Turkey
From left: Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on January 26, 2023. Photo: Barzani's office
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Thursday was received by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara. Both leaders talked about a range of issues, including energy, according to a statement from Barzani’s office.
The Kurdish and Turkish leaders touched on a number of pressing issues, such as Erbil-Baghdad relations and “the ongoing negotiations to resolve the pending issues between the two sides,” read the statement.
“Both sides stressed their mutual readiness to promote relations between the Kurdistan Region and Turkey in all areas, especially in trade and economic cooperation, and to utilize the existing opportunities to expand the joint partnership of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region with Turkey in the field of energy, which can actively contribute to filling the void and addressing the needs in the world today, especially in Europe in the field of natural gas and energy,” it added.
Both presidents also “focused on the importance of strengthening cooperation of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region with Turkey to protect border security, the latest developments in the fight against terrorism and the threat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, the situation in the wider region and other issues of mutual interest.”
Erdogan’s office said the meeting took place in the Presidential Complex in Ankara without elaborating what was discussed.
Ankara and Erbil enjoy great economic relations, and most of the Kurdistan Region's crude oil is marketed through Turkey's pipelines.
President Barzani and Erdogan last met in March 2022. Erdogan at the time told reporters that his country seeks a win-win deal to export natural gas from Iraq, adding that Barzani had promised during the trip to facilitate talks.
The Kurdish and Turkish leaders touched on a number of pressing issues, such as Erbil-Baghdad relations and “the ongoing negotiations to resolve the pending issues between the two sides,” read the statement.
“Both sides stressed their mutual readiness to promote relations between the Kurdistan Region and Turkey in all areas, especially in trade and economic cooperation, and to utilize the existing opportunities to expand the joint partnership of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region with Turkey in the field of energy, which can actively contribute to filling the void and addressing the needs in the world today, especially in Europe in the field of natural gas and energy,” it added.
Both presidents also “focused on the importance of strengthening cooperation of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region with Turkey to protect border security, the latest developments in the fight against terrorism and the threat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria, the situation in the wider region and other issues of mutual interest.”
Erdogan’s office said the meeting took place in the Presidential Complex in Ankara without elaborating what was discussed.
Ankara and Erbil enjoy great economic relations, and most of the Kurdistan Region's crude oil is marketed through Turkey's pipelines.
President Barzani and Erdogan last met in March 2022. Erdogan at the time told reporters that his country seeks a win-win deal to export natural gas from Iraq, adding that Barzani had promised during the trip to facilitate talks.
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