- Time: 2024/03/13 19:29:40
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{International:Euphrates News} The Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday that senior officials from Turkey and Iraq will meet in Baghdad on Thursday to discuss cooperation in the field of energy in addition to security and defense affairs.
Relations between the two neighbors have been strained in recent years, as Ankara has intensified its cross-border operations against PKK militants stationed in the mountainous regions of northern Iraq. Iraq said the operations violated its sovereignty, but Ankara says it should protect itself and warned of a new incursion.
The two sides also disagree on the resumption of oil exports from the crude oil pipeline, which runs from Iraq through Turkey, which Ankara says is operational but Baghdad has not yet resumed operations.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Oncu Ketçali said at a press conference in Ankara that Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defense Minister Yaşar Güler and the head of the Turkish intelligence service Ibrahim Kalin will hold talks with their counterparts in Baghdad at a “security summit.”
“The formulation of a common understanding in the fight against terrorism and the concrete steps that can be taken in this regard will be on the table,” Katchali said. The Iraqi authorities’ classification of the PKK as a common security threat is a sign that the desire to fight the PKK is growing in Iraq and we welcome that.”
The outlawed PKK, designated by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, took up up arms against the Turkish state in 1984 and killed more than 40,000 in the insurgency.
“The resumption of oil flows from the Iraq-Turkey pipeline will be discussed during the meetings,” Katchali said.
Turkey halted flows to the pipeline, an oil export route from northern Iraq, following a ruling in an arbitration case issued by the International Chamber of Commerce ordering Ankara to pay damages to Baghdad for unauthorized exports between 2014 and 2018.
Ankara later began maintenance work on the pipeline, which contributes about 0.5% of global crude oil supplies. The two countries agreed to wait until the pipeline maintenance assessment is complete to resume flows while they continue a legal battle over arbitration decisions.
“We mentioned last October that flows may be through this pipeline, and there are no problems for us; but we recognize that the Iraqi side is not yet ready,” Katchali said. “We want all parties in Iraq to reach an agreement within the framework of dialogue and mutual understanding, and to resume the flow through this pipeline as soon as possible,” he added.
He added that officials will also discuss cooperation in the gas and renewable energy sector as well as the scheduled visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Baghdad expected next spring.
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