![President Masoud Barzani [L] and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan [R] met in Istanbul on Sunday. Photo: AA](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.rudaw.net%2Fs3%2Frudaw.net%2FContentFiles%2F285405Image1.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
ANKARA, Turkey – Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called on the Kurdish government to visit Turkey to discuss the troubled economic situation of Kurdistan with the Turkish authorities, this comes after his meeting with President Masoud Barzani in Istanbul described as “ a very good meeting” by the Kurdish president.
President Barzani has told Rudaw that he had "a very good meeting" with his Turkish counterpart late Sunday, adding that they had discussed "all subjects."
"It was good. It was a very good meeting," President Barzani told Rudaw briefly in Ankara where he is expected to meet the Turkish Prime Minister on Monday, "we discussed all subjects," he said.
Turkey’s Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmet Yıldız welcomed President Barzani and his delegation at the Istanbul airport, while for the first time the Turkish side raised a Kurdish flag in the airport, a signal of friendship noticed by the visiting delegation.
“The visit was simultaneous with raising the flag of Kurdistan at the Istanbul airport,” a statement from the Kurdish presidency said.
During the meeting, in addition to Yildiz, Turkish energy minister Berat Albayrak and the head of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Hakan Fidan were present in the meeting between the two presidents.
“The relations between Kurdistan Region and Turkey, in particular the economic aspect were discussed,” the statement said.
It said despite discussing the “outcomes” of the visit by the Turkish Prime Minister to Erbil last month, “the President of Turkey said that he invites the Kurdistan Regional Government to visit Turkey to discuss the [Region’s] economic situation,” it added.
The Kurdish Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani said in early December that in 2014 Kurdistan Region suffered from triple shocks: the Iraqi budget cut early that year, the war with ISIS that began that summer and the subsequent influx of refugees and IDPs (internally displaced people) who numbered almost two million, coupled later with "a devastating blow" of low oil prices, resulting in an ongoing financial crisis.
Rudaw's reporter asked Barzani whether the two leaders discussed the question of independence, but the Kurdish President moved away and made his way into a vehicle without answering the question.
#KRG President @masoud_barzani speaks to Rudaw after meeting with Turkish counterpart, says it was "a very good meeting". pic.twitter.com/8zBS9Lq1RK
— Rudaw English (@RudawEnglish) February 26, 2017
Both leaders met late on Sunday afternoon in Istanbul, where they were expected to discuss a range of topics including the economy and border security.
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) spokesperson Safeen Dizayee, accompanying Barzani, told Rudaw the visit is upon Turkey's invitation; additionally, Barzani will meet Turkish PM Binali Yildirim in Ankara.
"A range of questions are going to be discussed. Iraqi is important in every aspect, whether it is in terms of economy, border security or humanitarian and cultural sides," Ibrahim Kalin, spokesperson of the Turkish presidency, said in a news conference earlier this week.
It was likely that the topic of the detentions of Kurdish officials in Turkey will be discussed between the two leaders.
Speaking to Rudaw TV on Saturday, Lazgin Botan, a People’s Democratic Party (HDP) parliamentarian in Turkey, appreciated Barzani’s call for the release of his party’s jailed leaders and politicians, describing Barzani as an influential and international leader.
“Masoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Region, is known on an international level and has his own position. And his demand for releasing Salahattin Demirtas [co-leader of the HDP] is not meddling in Turkey’s affairs,” Botan said.
“Barzani has influence on the Kurdish nation and even Justice and Development Party (AKP) and his demand is right," Botan claimed, referring to strong bilateral relations between Barzani and Turkish officials of the ruling AKP.
The comments came after Barzani called for the release of imprisoned Turkish politicians in Turkey.
“In the interest of peace in Turkey, it would be better for him and other arrested politicians to be released,” Barzani said in reference to Selahattin Demirtas, the jailed co-chair of the HDP in an interview with the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung.
He praised the role of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has shown “much courage,” adding that he was the only politician who could bring peace between Turks and Kurds. But he criticized recent developments in Turkey, calling for the release of opposition politicians detained in the country.
Turkish authorities also recently extended curfews in nine villages in Mardin province and in 10 districts in Diyarbakir province indefinitely, the Diyarbakir governor's office said.
Barzani and Erdogan last met in Turkey in August 2016.
The Flag of Kurdistan at Istanbul airport alongside the flags of Iraq and Turkey. Photo:Rudaw
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