A fresh start in Türkiye-Iraq relations

I was in Baghdad and Irbil as part of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s delegation on Monday. The Turkish leader met with President Abdul Latif Rashid and Prime Minister Mohammed S. Al Sudani in Baghdad and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Nechirvan Barzani and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani in Irbil. The president’s first visit in 12 years marks the beginning of a new chapter in Türkiye-Iraq relations.

Under the strategic framework agreement for joint cooperation, which the two countries inked in Baghdad, their bilateral relations have been elevated to the level of strategic partnership with a “qualitative leap.” The Turkish and Iraqi governments created a road map for future cooperation. Their commitment to solving problems and elevating their cooperation to the highest level rests on the “win-win” principle. Accordingly, the Turkish delegation, which included eight Cabinet ministers, focused on a broad range of issues, including counterterrorism, cross-border waters, security, the defense industry, trade, health care, communication, education, energy and transportation.

The conclusion of 26 agreements and the establishment of joint standing committees indicated that Erdoğan’s visit marked the beginning of an ambitious period in Turkish-Iraqi relations. Moreover, the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) regarding the Development Road project (Türkiye, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar) was highly significant. The project, which resembles the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, underlines that a long-term strategic vision informs the bilateral relationship and has a regional footing. Ensuring the project’s safety is key to making the corridor a reality, which requires Türkiye and Iraq to fight the PKK actively in line with their common interests.

Concentrating on the efficient use of water and the long-term economic benefits of the Development Road, Baghdad has finally demonstrated its willingness to elevate the counter-PKK campaign to the level that Türkiye has long wanted. Accordingly, there is reason to expect several steps, including the creation of a 30- or 40-kilometer security zone, the establishment of a joint operations center and the PKK’s removal from the road between Iraq and Syria, will be taken by the two countries.

War on terror

Speaking at a joint news conference with the Iraqi prime minister, the Turkish president welcomed Iraq’s decision to designate the PKK as an outlawed organization, adding that he was confident that the country would officially identify the PKK as a terrorist entity. He described that step as a requirement of neighborly and fraternal relations.

Meanwhile, the unfolding drama in Palestine, potential areas of cooperation and the possibility of the spillover of tensions between Iran and Israel were on the leaders’ agenda. At the joint news conference, Erdoğan stressed that Türkiye’s policy toward Iraq did not “make a distinction between ethnic, sectarian and religious groups.” Stressing Iraq’s integrity and demographic richness, he expressed his hope that Monday’s visit would entail “new beginnings.”

Strategic partnership

There is little doubt that the emerging strategic partnership between Türkiye and Iraq will offer many benefits:

– Ankara wants to reverse the “lose-lose” relationship between Baghdad and Irbil and hopes that it can be repaired. Offering the Turkmen due representation, too, will contribute to Iraq’s internal stability.

– Developing a stronger relationship with Türkiye will increase Iraq’s autonomy vis-a-vis other players.

– Monday’s visit created a strong basis for Iraq’s central government and the KRG to stop cooperating with the PKK. The counter-PKK campaign will contribute to Iraq’s border security and domestic integrity.

– A “Joint cooperation” on water, counterterrorism and the Development Road will send a strong signal to all countries in the region. President Erdogan’s decision to make a stop in Irbil (after visiting Baghdad) was an attempt to lend political support to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the ruling party of the KRG, and a warning to the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), one of the dominant parties in the KRG. Ankara wants to take the counter-PKK campaign in Iraq to the final stage by helping repair the relationship between Baghdad and Irbil.

[Daily Sabah, April 24, 2024]