Turkey, Iraq hold security talks in Baghdad, Iraqi government says

Senior Turkish and Iraqi officials held high-level talks in Baghdad on Thursday to discuss security issues including potential measures against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Iraq, an Iraqi foreign ministry statement said after the meeting. Ties between the neighbours have been rocky in recent years as Ankara has ramped up cross-border operations against PKK militants based in northern Iraq's mountainous regions.

Senior Turkish and Iraqi officials held high-level talks in Baghdad on Thursday to discuss security issues including potential measures against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Iraq, an Iraqi foreign ministry statement said after the meeting.

Ties between the neighbours have been rocky in recent years as Ankara has ramped up cross-border operations against PKK militants based in northern Iraq's mountainous regions. Iraq has said the operations violate its sovereignty, but Ankara says it must protect itself and has warned of new incursions. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defence Minister Yasar Guler and intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin met with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and top security officials, the statement said.

Turkey welcomed the Iraqi National Security Council's decision to consider the PKK a "banned organization in Iraq", the foreign ministry statement added. The two sides also discussed preparations for a planned visit by President Tayyip Erdogan to Baghdad, which is expected "after the holy month of Ramadan", said the statement.

Earlier on Thursday a Turkish defence ministry official told reporters Turkish and Iraqi officials would discuss "developing a common understanding on the fight against terrorism." The Turkish defence ministry official also said officials from the Turkish army held talks with Iraqi counterparts over the weekend to discuss "measures to increase security of the civilians" in the region where Turkey is conducting operations.

The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the insurgency. The conflict was long fought mainly in rural areas of southeastern Turkey but is now more focused on the mountains of northern Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region.

Turkey has, since 2019, conducted a series of cross-border operations in northern Iraq against the PKK, dubbed "Claw".

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