As Türkiye strives to improve ties with Iraq, top diplomat Hakan Fidan made his first visit to the country since his appointment as foreign minister earlier this summer. Starting his three-day visit to the country, Fidan was blunt in his call to Baghdad for recognition of one of Türkiye's primary security concerns: the PKK terrorist group.

Türkiye expects Iraq to officially recognize the PKK as a terrorist organization, Fidan said Tuesday. Speaking at a joint news conference with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein in Iraq's capital Baghdad, Fidan said, "We expect Iraq, out of friendship and brotherhood, to officially recognize PKK as a terrorist organization."

"We must not allow the PKK terrorist organization, which is a common enemy of Türkiye and Iraq, to poison our bilateral relations.

"We cannot accept PKK challenging the sovereignty of Iraq," he added.

Fidan said that the territorial integrity, political unity and sovereignty of Iraq are one of Türkiye's priorities.

"Sinjar, Makhmour, Qandil, Sulaymaniyah and many other Iraqi districts have been occupied by the PKK terror group."

In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK has been responsible for the deaths of over 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The YPG is its Syrian branch.

Türkiye supports Iraq's fight against the PKK terrorist organization, Fidan said.

"We are ready to collaborate with Iraq in the fight against all forms of terrorist organizations, whether it's the PKK or Daesh, regardless of their names.

"These groups, aiming to undermine Iraq's territorial integrity and political unity, are targeting the stability and prosperity of our Iraqi brothers, and committing crimes against humanity," he added.

For his part, Hussein said that the Iraqi Constitution does not allow any foreign armed group (such as the PKK terrorist organization) to use Iraq as a base to launch attacks against neighboring countries.

Regarding President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's anticipated visit to Iraq, he said: "I hope that we will quickly sign joint agreements and memoranda of understanding between the two parties to pave the way for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Baghdad."

On Wednesday, Fidan was received by Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani. "In the meeting (with Rashid), the topics discussed included increasing our bilateral trade, counterterrorism efforts and the efficient utilization of transboundary waters between the two countries," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on X, formerly known as Twitter. Fidan is scheduled to meet the Iraqi parliamentary speaker and representatives of the Turkmen community in Iraq later on Wednesday before traveling to northern Iraq to meet officials from Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). He is expected to hold talks with KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani as well.

The PKK is blacklisted as a terrorist organization in Türkiye, along with the United States and the European Union. It has waged a bloody insurgency in Türkiye since 1984 that has claimed tens of thousands of lives, including women and children.

Ankara maintains dozens of military bases in northern Iraq where it regularly launches operations against the group, which maintains a stronghold in the Qandil Mountains. In the last few years, intensifying operations in the region have demolished terrorist lairs in Metina, Avashin-Basyan, Zap and Gara. After eradicating the group’s influence in these regions, Türkiye also aims to clear Qandil, Sinjar and Makhmour.

Türkiye’s military involvement in northern Iraq dates back over two decades, separately from its operations against the PKK, and also included the war against the Daesh terrorist group, which controlled much of the area, in 2014 and 2015, when Ankara was an ally in the U.S.-led anti-Daesh campaign. The terrorist group has been more active in Syria after a civil war broke out more than a decade ago. YPG terrorists control areas near the Syrian-Iraqi border and unconfirmed reports say they travel between the two countries secretly.

Turkish security forces "neutralized" six more members of the PKK/YPG terror group in northern Syria, Türkiye's National Defense Ministry said on Wednesday. The terrorists had opened harassing fire on the Operation Olive Branch zone, the ministry said on X. Turkish authorities use the term "neutralize" to imply that the terrorists in question surrendered or were killed or captured.

PKK/YPG terrorists hide out in northern Syria, near the Turkish border, where they plan and carry out attacks on both locals and nearby settlements in Türkiye. Since 2016, Ankara has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019).