aThe Turkish Foreign Minister began his visit to Iraq on Tuesday. He held talks with his Iraqi counterpart. During these discussions, they addressed the water issue, the resumption of Kurdish oil exports to Turkey and the presence of the PKK in Iraq.
Water issues between Turkey and Iraq: the preparatory visit of the Turkish minister
Hakan Fidan’s stay in Baghdad and Iraqi Kurdistan runs until Thursday. Its aim is to prepare for the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, for which no date has yet been set. The issue of water and dams on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which rise in Turkey before flowing into Iraq, is particularly sensitive between the two neighbors. Iraq is suffering from an alarming drop in the level of its two rivers. In addition, he accuses Turkey of drastically reducing river flow due to upstream dams.
Following talks with his Iraqi counterpart Fouad Hussein, Hakan Fidan told a press conference that he approached the problem of the drought affecting Iraq “from a purely human perspective”.
Dialogue t proposals: Water management and security concerns on Turkish diplomats’ visit to Iraq
He is counting on “a sustained dialogue mechanism” with Baghdad. According to Fouad Hussein, the head of Turkish diplomacy has proposed the creation of a “permanent committee” to manage the water issue.
In Baghdad, Hakan Fidan is also due to hold talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Chia al-Soudani and President Abdel Latif Rachid. Another hot topic concerns the Turkish Kurdish fighters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). They have rear bases in northern Iraq, a region where Turkey regularly carries out military operations against this group.
PKK, oil exports and financial challenges: Key points in discussions between Turkey and Iraq
Warning against the PKK, “our common enemy which must not poison our bilateral relations”, Hakan Fidan invited Baghdad to “recognize the PKK as a terrorist organization”.
Lastly, the two leaders discussed the imminent resumption of oil exports from Iraqi Kurdistan to Turkey. These exports were frozen in March by Ankara.
“We hope to find a solution,” said Fouad Hussein at a press conference.
After years of going it alone to export oil via Turkey, Iraqi Kurdistan has been forced to comply with an international court ruling. This decision was in Baghdad’s favor when it came to managing this oil, and it happened at the end of March. Following this verdict, Turkey stopped the transit of Kurdish oil on its territory via pipeline. In May, Iraq had expressed its expectation of a “final agreement” with Turkey for the resumption of oil exports. However, financial issues remain unresolved.
