Türkiye and Iraq have signed a memorandum of understanding on security, military and counterterrorism cooperation, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced Thursday after two days of high-level security talks in Ankara.
“We are going to raise our cooperation to the highest level thanks to joint command and training centers included in this agreement," Fidan said after meeting with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein.
Fidan said Ankara and Baghdad aim to materialize a mutual understanding of counterterrorism efforts by taking concrete steps.
The landmark pact envisages the establishment of permanent committees for cooperation in necessary fields, which would boost ties in trade, energy, water, transportation and education.
Fidan also welcomed “Iraq’s growing awareness about the PKK.”
The PKK has led a bloody terrorism campaign against Türkiye since 1984, massacring over 40,000 people since. Labeled a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union, the PKK has strongholds in northern Iraq from where it launches attacks into Türkiye.
Hussein said the presence of PKK terrorists in northern Iraq poses “a danger for the Kurdistan region and other Iraqi cities” and poses a threat to Iraqi society.
"The Iraqi government has decided to add the PKK to the list of banned parties," he added.
Hussein said that in addition to fighting militant organizations, the discussions also touched upon securing their border against smuggling and illegal migration.
The pact follows signs of a thaw in relations between Ankara and Baghdad, which have been strained by a Turkish military operation against the PKK in northern Iraq.
Needing to secure its border with its southern neighbor, Türkiye rolled out Operation Claw-Lock in April 2022. It involved Ankara attacking the terrorist group within Iraq. Baghdad has said the operations violate its sovereignty but Ankara says they are needed to protect itself.
On July 13, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced the operation's imminent end.
Erdoğan made his first visit to Baghdad since 2011 in April of this year.
Ankara and Baghdad held a fourth round of meetings this week as part of the dialogue mechanism. In March, Iraq labeled the PKK a "banned organization in Iraq" – a move welcomed by Türkiye.
Fidan said the accord signed by the defense ministers of either side carried "historic importance," while Hussein said it was "the first in the history of Iraq and Türkiye" in this field.
"Through the joint coordination and training centers planned in this agreement, we believe we can take our cooperation to the next level," Fidan said.
A Turkish diplomatic source said that, with the agreement, a Joint Security Coordination Centre would be established in Baghdad along with a Joint Training and Cooperation Centre in Bashiqa near the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
Hussein, speaking about the Bashiqa training camp, said "The onus will lie on the Iraqi armed forces," without elaborating.
Hussein added that the notion of security also included issues such as trade, energy, transportation, agriculture and water.
The two main rivers passing through Iraq, the Euphrates and Tigris, begin in Türkiye. Water has been a recurrent source of tension between the two.
On Monday, Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler told Reuters that recent steps taken by Türkiye and Iraq on counterterrorism marked a turning point in ties, adding Ankara wanted Baghdad to go a step further and label the PKK a terrorist organization as soon as possible.
Erdoğan on Thursday similarly reiterated Türkiye’s “resolute” fight against terrorism.
"We will continue our fight with determination and resolve until we eliminate terrorism as a source of threat to our country," Erdoğan said in a speech at the Gendarmerie and Coast Guard Academy Graduation Ceremony in the capital of Ankara.
"Going back from this point is absolutely out of the question," he added.
Erdoğan said that if Türkiye is able to show a courageous and principled stance worldwide, one of the most important reasons behind it is the successes achieved in the field of security over the past 22 years.
He underlined that significant gains have been made in the fight against the separatist terrorist organization that has troubled the nation for 40 years.
