Iraq will not accept the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to use Iraqi land to attack Turkey, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Jan. 3, a day before Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım’s visit to Iraq.
“We cannot accept the PKK’s use of Iraqi land to launch attacks against Turkey. Our constitution also does not allow such things,” he said at a press conference, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported.
Ties between Iraq and Turkey soured after Baghdad condemned the latter’s establishment of a military camp in Bashiqa, near Mosul, to train local Sunni groups fighting against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
Turkey and Iraq summoned their respective ambassadors on Oct. 5, 2016, after the two sides exchanged bitter recriminations regarding Turkish troops’ presence in the region.
Ankara approached Baghdad on Oct. 17 in a bid to restore ties after a Turkish delegation presented a draft to Iraqi officials during a visit to Baghdad.
Yıldırım’s scheduled visit to Iraq on Jan. 5 and 6 was announced after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a lengthy phone conversation with al-Abadi last week.
Yıldırım is expected to meet al-Abadi in the Iraqi capital before moving to Arbil, where he will also meet Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Massoud Barzani. KRG officials had recently vowed to take action against PKK elements in the Sinjar region.
Commenting on Yıldırım’s visit to Baghdad, al-Abadi said the visit would come as a part of the efforts to strengthen mutual relations.
“We want to strengthen our political, security, economic and trade relations with all states including Turkey,” al-Abadi said.