Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan continued his Iraq visit in the Iraqi Kurdish capital Erbil (Hewlêr) on Thursday, holding meetings with several members of the Barzani family, both in the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
Fidan’s meetings concluded in joint press conferences with KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and President Nechirvan Barzani, where the politicians commented on increased cooperation between the neighbours, particularly on military matters.
Around the same time, Turkey carried out drone strikes in different regions of Iraqi Kurdistan, resulting in four civilian deaths.
Earlier in the day, the Turkish Defence Ministry had announced the death of a sergeant in KRI as part of Turkey’s ongoing offensive.
Turkey continues its Claw-Lock Operation in the region since 2021, with major preceding incursions starting in 2019. While authorities maintain the operations target the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), there have been significant civilian casualties and accusations of use of prohibited weapons.
The Turkish minister’s comments focused on the military operations on Iraqi soil, and Fidan thanked both Barzanis for their “support” for Turkey’s anti-terrorism efforts. Turkey hopes to “clean this virus from Iraq together”, Fidan added.
Masrour Barzani said the Kurdistan region would “fulfil its constitutional obligation by not allowing any parties to use its land as a Launchpad for attacks on neighbouring countries”, while Nechirvan Barzani thanked Fidan for Ankara’s support “during hard times”.
The KRG wants to resume oil exports directly to Turkey, without going through Baghdad. For the direct trade relation between the two entities between 2014 and 2018, the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) ordered Ankara to pay a $1.5 billion fine to Baghdad for the unauthorised sales.
Turkey has been restricting water flow into Iraq from the twin rivers of Tigris and Euphrates, adding to the drought conditions in the country due to the dry summer. At the same time, Iraqi Arab and Kurdish politicians and leaders have voiced discontent with Turkey’s military presence in the country on numerous occasions.
The Kurdish flag was displayed alongside the Iraqi flag during the press conferences, unlike various occasions in which President Erdoğan received KRG officials in front of Turkish flags alone. However, Fidan referred to the KRI as “Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Administration”, avoiding the official name of the autonomous region and the word “Kurdistan” as Turkish officials are wont to do.
Thursday’s meetings have stirred protest among Kurds, with Kurdistan National Congress (KNK) Member Adem Uzun saying in a tweet that the KRG “should not allow the Turkish foreign minister to visit Hewlêr and threaten Kurdish gains”.
“Leaders who meet and legitimise the Turkish regime as it occupies Kurdistan and Iraq and terrorises the Kurdish and Iraqi people will be responsible for the consequences – an ISIS resurgence and neo-Ottoman expansion,” Uzun continued. “They must change course and put their peoples first.”
