Turkey and Iraq reaffirm commitment to work against Kurdish militants and other security threats

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening security cooperation on Thursday, vowing to work against threats, including Kurdish militants based on Iraqi territory.

Al-Sudani arrived in Turkey as the neighboring countries are working to enhance cooperation and mend past tensions.

Relations between Turkey and Iraq were often strained over Turkish military incursions into northern Iraq for operations against the banned Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, and the establishment of Turkish military bases there. Baghdad frequently condemned the incursions as a violation of its sovereignty, while Ankara accused Iraq of not doing enough to fight the PKK.

More recently, however, the two countries have deepened cooperation on security, including addressing the PKK presence in northern Iraq. Last year, Iraq announced that the Iraqi National Security Council had issued a ban on the PKK, although it stopped short of designating it as a terrorist organization.

Erdogan said the two ''reaffirmed our determination'' to fight against the Kurdish militants, the Islamic State group and against members of network that Turkey accuses of being behind a failed military coup in 2016.

"We once again emphasized that terrorism has no place in the future of our region,'' Erdogan said.

Al-Sudani said: ''What affects Iraq's security affects Turkey's security and vice versa."

''According to our constitution, we do not allow any group to use Iraqi territory to attack neighboring countries,'' he said.

On Thursday, officials inked 11 agreements, including in trade and defense, to advance cooperation between the two countries.

Erdogan stressed the urgency of resuming oil shipments through an Iraqi-Turkish pipeline.

The oil pipeline running from the semi-autonomous Kurdish region to Turkey has been shut down since March 2023, after an arbitration court ruling ordered Ankara to pay Iraq $1.5 billion for oil exports that bypassed Iraq's central government in Baghdad. The sharing of oil and gas revenues has long been a contentious issue between Baghdad and Kurdish authorities in Irbil.

Al-Sudani said water supplies to Iraq were also discussed. He said committees were continuing meetings to agree on mechanisms for water management projects.

''We emphasized the need for a fair understanding that respects the interests of both sides, in accordance with principles of equity and good neighborliness,'' the Iraqi prime minister said.

In recent years, Iraqi officials have complained that dams built by Turkey are reducing Iraq's water supply.

The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, which provide most of Iraq's fresh water, originate in Turkey. Experts fear that climate change is likely to exacerbate existing water shortages in Iraq.

''Our position is that water levels in the dams are at a minimum, and at the same time, Iraq has received very little rainfall this year," al-Sudani said.

The two also discussed steps to rapidly implement The Development Road Project - a large-scale infrastructure plan to connect the Persian Gulf with Turkey by constructing highways and rail links from southern Iraq to the Turkish border.

The Iraqi prime minister's visit comes after the PKK's jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan, called on his group to dissolve and disarm as part of a new peace initiative with Turkey. The group declared a unilateral ceasefire in March and is now expected to hold a congress in northern Iraq, during which it would announce its dissolution, Turkish officials have said.

The PKK, which has maintained bases in northern Iraq's semiautonomous Kurdish region, has fought Turkey for an autonomous Kurdish state. The conflict has claimed tens of thousands of lives since the 1980s. Turkey and its Western allies have designated the PKK a terrorist organization.

Al-Sudani said: ''We welcome the political process and the disarmament path concerning the PKK.''

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Abdul-Zahra reported from Baghdad.