Türkiye reiterates its commitment to fighting terrorism in Iraq

Türkiye’s foreign minister reiterated the country's commitment to fighting terrorism in Iraq and addressing the national security threat posed by a political party’s ties to the PKK terror group.

"Türkiye is determined to use all its diplomatic tools in a coordinated manner to establish stability in the region with the fight against terrorism in Iraq," Hakan Fidan told a news channel on March 18, per Anadolu.

Highlighting the enduring friendship between Türkiye and the people of the Iraqi city of Sulaymaniyah, Fidan said the leadership of northern Iraq's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) party in Sulaymaniyah "poses a national security threat to Türkiye due to its cooperation with the terror group PKK."

"Our desire is for our friends in Sulaymaniyah to correct their mistakes, cement their friendship with Türkiye as they have done throughout history, and move forward together towards a shared future," he added.

Stressing collaborative efforts to shape the future in the Iraqi cities of Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Baghdad, Kirkuk and Mosul, he said there is no place for terrorist groups in these areas.

"We must now remove them from our system. These are organizations whose lifespan has expired. The cities and cultures I mentioned are ancient, and they have overcome such threats before, and hopefully, they will continue to do so in the future," he added.

Stressing Iraq's tumultuous history, including occupation and civil war, Fidan noted a significant shift in the last four to five years, indicating that the country is now on a path towards normalization and capable of fulfilling the requirements of politics.

Pointing out numerous weak and uncontrolled points that allow the PKK to cross the Syria-Iraq border, he said "there are steps that need to be taken from the north to the Turkish border. Our goal is to ensure the security of the border between Iraq and Syria completely and prevent the organization from using the gap."

He also pointed to the terror group’s efforts to consolidate its presence both in Iraq and Syria, expressing Türkiye's goal to completely eliminate the permeability between Syria and Iraq.