Middle East
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani (left) and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (right) in a joint press conference in Ankara on March 21, 2023. Photo: Erdogan's office
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani said that the country will not allow its land to be used for attacks on neighboring Turkey, during a joint press conference with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara on Tuesday.
Sudani arrived in Turkey’s capital of Ankara on Tuesday, received by Erdogan at the presidential complex. The two leaders then held a meeting discussing Baghdad-Ankara bilateral relations in various fields, according to a statement from Sudani’s office.
“Iraq is committed to not allowing its land to be used as a launchpad for attacks against Turkey,” said the Iraqi premier during the presser.
“The security of the region is interconnected and inseparable. Through intelligence cooperation and the exchange of information, we will definitely solve these security issues without the use of violence, in a way that preserves the security and sovereignty of Iraq which we wish to achieve, and in a way that does affect our relationship and serious aspirations with Turkey,” he added.
Turkey-Iraq relations were severely harmed in July when nine Iraqi tourists were killed in a bombardment in Duhok province, blamed on the Turkish army. Ankara denied any involvement in the incident but Baghdad took the issue to the UN Security Council and called on the neighbouring country to withdraw troops from Iraq.
Erdogan said that Sudani’s visit is a testament to the friendly relations between Iraq and Turkey, thanking Baghdad for its support following the devastating earthquake which killed nearly 50,000 people in Turkey in February.
A disastrous 7.8-magnitude earthquake struck the city of Kahramanmaras in southern Turkey in February with its impact also ripping through neighboring Syria. More than 7,000 people lost their lives due to the quake in Syria.
The natural disaster galvanized countries from around the world, including Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, to come to the aid of the mourning countries, providing rescue teams, monetary support, as well as relief and medical supplies.
The Turkish president agreed to double the water releases from the Tigris River for a period of one month, saying the decision was made "in order to relieve Iraq's distress."
Water levels in the Euphrates and Tigris rivers – shared by Iraq, Syria, and Turkey – have dropped considerably in recent years. In the latest stark warning of the threats a heating climate poses to the country, a report by Iraq’s Ministry of Water Resources towards the end of last year predicted that unless urgent action is taken to combat declining water levels, Iraq’s two main rivers will be entirely dry by 2040.
Sudani and Erdogan also emphasized their determination to work on a new railroad project, stretching from Basra to Turkey. The Turkish president stated that he believes the project could be turned into a new “Silk Road” for the region.
Turkey has dozens of military bases in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, and Ankara carries out frequent aerial and ground attacks in the country on the grounds of fighting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) - an armed group struggling for the increased rights of Kurds in Turkey.
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