Alwaght- Diplomatic visits, especially in West Asia, are a reflection of efforts for boosting bilateral relations and dealing with complicated regional issues. In this connection, the Sunday visit of the Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan to Iraq is one of the most important steps to create a balance in the bilateral relations and address regional challenges.
The Turkish FM's visit to Iraq took place in the light of very complex internal and regional contexts. The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) issue is at the top of the Turkish side's concerns in every dialogue, while the water issue is considered a priority for Iraq.
In this regard, Iraqi Deputy Foreign Minister Hisham Alawi said that Fidan's visit to Baghdad is within the framework of pursuing priority bilateral issues for the two countries and activating MoUs, especially in the fields of security, water, economy, development path, energy and restarting the oil export pipeline.
Focusing on security issues: From PKK to ISIS
One of the topics of negotiations between the two sides is security cooperation. Turkey is trying to gain Baghdad's support for military action against the PKK forces in northern Iraq.
In this regard, in a meeting with Iraqi officials, Fidan stressed Ankara's willingness to expand security cooperation to neutralize the capabilities of the PKK.
Turkey believes that the security agreement between the two countries, which was signed earlier this year, allows Turkish forces to penetrate Iraqi territory to chase PKK militants. Ankara also accuses some Iraqi groups including the Popular Mobilization Forces branches, of collaborating with the PKK in attacking the country's military bases in northern Iraq. However, the Iraqi government does not buy this argument and accuses Turkish forces of occupation because Baghdad has declared the PKK not a terrorist group but a "banned organization." In this situation, the Turkish side is seeking to gain international legitimacy for its military presence in northern Iraq and the numerous bases it has illegally set up in these areas by convincing Baghdad to label PKK a terrorist group.
Fidan's destination was not only Baghdad and he also visited Erbil, where he met with Kurdistan region's officials to discuss security matters beside business. Last week, Masoud Barzani of Kurdistan region hosted Mazloum Abdi, the commander of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), to mediate between the new leaders in Damascus and the Syrian Kurds. It seems that Turkey, amid Western opposition to attacking the Kurds near the Euphrates, hopes to use this role to force the PKK to withdraw from Syria. There is also weak movement within the PKK in this regard, as at the end of December 2024, Abdullah Ocalan, the spiritual father of the PKK who is in Turkish prison since earlier 1990s, accepted the offer of the Turkish Nationalist Party leader Devlet Bahçeli to start negotiations with Ankara and disarm the PKK, though this offer was rejected by Cemil Bayik, the PKK's military commander in Qandil Mountains.
From another perspective, the Turkish FM visit is part of the regional competition to boost influence. By supporting international legitimacy of the new Syrian regime and Damascus's more active participation in regional developments, Turkey seeks to strengthen its position against regional rivals, as the new Syria is considered a bastion of Turkish influence after the toppling of President Bashar al-Assad. Meanwhile, Iraq also has concerns about the consequences of possible developments in Syria and their impact on its internal security and stability. Therefore, the visit bore a reassuring message to allay Baghdad's concerns and doubts. The Turks are said to have taken with them to Baghdad a proposal to form a security coalition consisting of Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Qatar.
Economy: From oil and gas to strategic "development road" project
Economic relations is one of the key agendas of the visit to Iraq. Increasing the bilateral trade volume to about $20 billion by the end of 2024, Iraq and Turkey are seeking to develop their economic relations even further.
One of the important projects is the "development road" project, which seeks to establish a short land and rail corridor between the Persian Gulf countries and Europe via Iraq and Turkey by creating a 1,200-kilometer land and rail corridor from Basra to the Turkish border. During this visit, Fidan confirmed his country's intention to continue supporting the project.
Turkey also stresses on reconstruction of Mosul and the expansion of the presence of Turkish companies in these projects.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Baghdad on April 22 last year, and with the visit of Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shia al-Sudani to Ankara in November, a "strategic partnership framework agreement" was signed between the two countries, which lays the groundwork for comprehensive economic partnership.
Oil for water
As much as Iraq enjoys abundance of oil, it faces a water crisis especially in recent years with Turkey being the main party to blame for its policy of excessive dam construction on Euphrates and Tigris rivers. This policy has put Baghdad under Turkish guillotine.
In March 2023, the International Chamber of Commerce ruled in favor of Baghdad in Iraq’s lawsuit against Turkey, ordering Turkey to pay a $1.5 billion fine for illegally selling 450,000 barrels per day of oil from the Kurdistan region of Iraq without the permission of Baghdad-based central government. Recently, a delegation led by Hayan Abdul Ghani Al-Sawad, Iraq’s deputy PM for energy and minister of oil, traveled to Turkey to discuss energy issues with the Ankara government. Earlier, in April 2024, the two sides signed a 10-year water agreement to settle water-related disputes.
These developments reveal constant efforts by the two sides to settle issues related to natural resources and to bolster economic cooperation, though in security and regional areas the prospects for root settling of disputes remain unclear.
