Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has arrived at Baghdad airport, in his first state visit to Iraq in 13 years. The Turkish president will meet Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid, as well as Prime Minister Muhammad Shiya al-Sudani. A series of 20 agreements are set to be signed today. Erdoğan is accompanied by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, as well as several other ministers.
Erdoğan will then continue to Erbil (Hewlêr), where he is scheduled to meet the president of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Nechirvan Barzani.
Despite the recent fatal Turkish attacks, KRG authorities in Erbil hung flags to welcome Erdoğan:
Hewlêr (Arbil), ruled by the KDP, has hung Turkey flags and welcoming greetings to Erdogan throughout the city.
Li Hewlêrê Rêveberiya Başurê Kurdistan (KDP) Bajarê Kurdan bi Alên Tirkiye u Posterên Xêrhatina Erdogan xemilandin. pic.twitter.com/pPzQmLIVm0
— NewsFromKurdistan (@NewsKurdistan1) April 21, 2024
Kurdish researcher Rojîn Mûkrîyan reacted on X: “This signifies nothing but the Barzani betrayal of the Kurds. It demonstrates nothing but the readiness of the Barzanis to be the genocidal partner to Erdoğan.”
What else can explain this except full submission to your coloniser! #Barzani welcomes #Erdogan’s visit to Iraq by projecting the Turkish state flag on the Erbil citadel. This signifies nothing but the Barzani betrayal of the Kurds. It demonstrates nothing but the readiness of… pic.twitter.com/goP9q6yFDH
— Rojîn Mûkrîyan (@RojinMukriyan) April 22, 2024
Meanwhile, the Turkish military is in the process of launching a major new military offensive in Iraqi Kurdistan. On 18 April a Peshmerga fighter was killed by a Turkish aerial attack in Sidekan governorate.
Today’s talks in Baghdad are expected to signal new cooperation between Iraq and Turkey over the Turkish military’s intensification of aerial attacks in Iraqi Kurdistan against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which have claimed the lives of ten Iraqi civilians this year. Turkish troops are also occupying northern Iraq, and have established 87 military bases in the region. Joint actions by Iraqi and Turkish forces are reportedly on today’s agenda.
Security cooperation between the Turkish state and Iraqi security forces will also be discussed.
This morning, commentators surmised whether Iraqi officials would call out Erdoğan over the deaths caused by Turkish attacks:
As Iraq prepares to receive Erdogan, one wonders if Iraqi officials will have courage to bring up Turkish air strikes which killed hundreds of Iraqis, including many Yazidis, over the past few years. Another critical thing would be how much freedom Erdogan will have to occupy…
— Murad Ismael (@murad_ismael) April 21, 2024
Veteran analyst Fréderike Geerdink provided her answer:
Starting tomorrow: Erdoğan visits Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. To answer the question: not much courage, I suspect, because very recent civilian deaths by Turkish strikes were met with total silence from both Baghdad and Erbil. https://t.co/uW8OxjxpY5
— Frederike Geerdink (@fgeerdink) April 21, 2024
Iraqi Minister of Water Resources Aoun Diab Abdullah has indicated that a memorandum will be signed at the Baghdad talks relating to Iraq, Turkey and Iran’s ongoing dispute over water. The Turkish state has approved hundreds of dam projects on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which disrupt Iraq’s water supply. It has been estimated that Turkey’s dam-building plans will, when completed, decrease Iraq’s water flow by 80%. The Turkish government are likely to use Iraq’s water-sharing concerns to gain concessions in other areas.
The meeting is also set to discuss Israel’s attack on Gaza, the restarting of oil exports from Iraq to Turkey, and a road building mega-project aimed at opening a new trading route. Today’s talks are slated to increase imports and exports between the two countries. Iraqi-Turkish trade already stands at a record high.
