Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced that the defense ministers of Türkiye and Iraq signed a Memorandum of Understanding on security, military and counterterrorism cooperation, as he spoke at a joint news conference with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein in Ankara on Thursday.
Fidan hosted Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein in the capital Ankara for a new round of critical talks, as the two neighbors aim to enhance security cooperation amid the threat of the PKK terrorist group.
The neighbors have in recent years been at loggerheads over Ankara’s cross-border military operations against the PKK based in northern Iraq’s mountainous region, which is controlled by the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Iraq has said the operations are a violation of its sovereignty, but Ankara says they are needed to protect itself.
Ankara and Baghdad have so far held three rounds of meetings as part of the dialogue mechanism, with Iraq deciding to label the PKK a “banned organization in Iraq” during the latest talks held in March, a move welcomed by Türkiye.
