President Abdul Latif Rashid stressed “the necessity of respecting Iraqi sovereignty, stopping the military violations and violations that affect Iraqi lands, including the cities of the [Kurdistan] Region, and resolving outstanding issues through dialogue,” in a Baghdad meeting with Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler, according to a statement from the Iraqi presidency.
Guler arrived in Baghdad earlier on Tuesday to meet with senior Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani. He is expected to visit the Kurdistan Region and meet with Kurdish leaders after having concluded his visit to Baghdad, Rudaw has learnt.
Sudani reiterated “Iraq’s rejection of any infringement of its sovereignty and any attempts to settle scores on its soil” in the meeting with Guler, adding that Iraqi territory must not be used to launch attacks on neighboring countries.
Iraqi officials have repeatedly blasted Turkey over the years for occupying parts of the Kurdistan Region’s northern mountainous areas under the pretext of fighting the PKK. Baghdad has also condemned the PKK for using Iraqi soil to launch attacks on Turkey.
In late December, Turkey carried out retaliatory airstrikes on alleged PKK positions in the Kurdistan Region and Syria after the group killed 12 Turkish soldiers in the Region’s mountains.
In 2019, Turkey launched Operation Claw against the PKK in Khakurk. This was followed by Operation Claw-Tiger in June 2020. The third edition of the offensive was a ground and air cross-border operation, dubbed Operation Claw-Lightning and Operation Claw-Thunderbolt, launched in April 2021. All of these operations focused on the PKK’s positions in the Kurdistan Region’s Duhok province.
Turkey sent its army back into the Kurdistan Region in April of 2022, launching Operation Claw-Lock with the goal of targeting PKK positions in Metina, Zap, Avashin, and Basyan areas in northern Duhok province. The operation, according to Ankara, aims to remove the PKK from the bordering areas and cut off its access to mainland Turkey.
Rashid also discussed the “Turkish measures to stop flights between Sulaimani airport and Turkish cities,” saying they “disrupt joint cooperation and hinder the maintenance of social relations between the two peoples.”
A flight ban on Sulaimani International Airport by Turkey has been in place since April 3, with Ankara blaming the Sulaimani-based Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) for allowing the PKK to increase its activities in the province.
According to the Iraqi presidency’s statement, Guler expressed his interest in “developing a solution for the return of flights between Sulaimani and Turkish cities.”
On Sunday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan criticized the PUK, claiming they have assisted PKK members in the Kurdistan Region by providing them with national identification cards and access to hospitals and infrastructure.
Civilians are often caught in the crossfire of the conflict between Turkey and the PKK. Many families have been forced to flee their homes in the Kurdistan Region's villages because of clashes, especially those in northern Duhok province near the border with Turkey, leaving entire villages empty. A Kurdistan Region parliamentary report published in 2020 said that the Turkey-PKK conflict has left over 500 villages empty across the Region.
