Erdogan's Visit to Iraq After 13 Years; PKK at the Center of Discussions

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the President of Turkey, arrived in Baghdad on Monday, April 22, to improve and expand relations with Iraq and to enhance bilateral cooperation against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). This is Erdogan's first visit to Iraq in 13 years and coincides with an escalation of Turkish attacks on PKK positions in the mountainous regions of Iraqi Kurdistan. The Turkish presidency announced that Erdogan, during his meeting with Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid, stated that Turkey expects cooperation from Iraq against the 'terrorist' organization PKK. Abdul Latif Rashid is the highest-ranking Kurdish official in Iraq. According to a statement from the Iraqi presidency, Rashid also told Erdogan that his country welcomes cooperation to combat terrorism and will not allow its territory to be used for attacks on neighbors. However, the Iraqi President told his Turkish counterpart that he opposes any attacks on Iraqi territory. In recent years, the Islamic Republic of Iran and Turkey have conducted extensive airstrikes in the region under the pretext of fighting Kurdish parties based in Iraqi Kurdistan, resulting in the deaths of dozens of civilians and the abandonment of many villages. The PKK was founded in 1979 by a group of mainly Kurdish students and began its armed activities in 1984 to gain rights for Kurds in Turkey. The PKK is recognized as a 'terrorist' organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union. Turkey intends to carry out extensive operations against the PKK in the coming weeks and months and is seeking military cooperation with Iraq in the form of a joint operations room. Cooperation on major economic projects is another goal of Turkey's visit to Iraq. Last year, Iraq launched a $17 billion project to become a transit hub connecting Asia and Europe and to develop the oil-rich Faw port in the south with Turkey in the north. Baghdad is also seeking an agreement to obtain a larger share of the waters of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which originate in Turkey and are the main source of drinking water for Iraq, which is grappling with drought and water shortages. During the meeting on Monday, Abdul Latif Rashid told Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Iraq deserves to receive its 'fair share' of water from these two rivers. More than 20 memorandums of understanding are set to be signed during Erdogan's one-day visit to Iraq. According to official Turkish data, bilateral trade between the two countries was over $24 billion in 2022 and nearly $20 billion in 2023. Additionally, in the first quarter of this year, exports from Turkey to Iraq increased by about 25%, while imports from Iraq saw a 46% decrease. Erdogan is scheduled to meet with the Iraqi Prime Minister in Baghdad and then with officials from the Kurdistan Regional Government in Erbil. The continuation of Turkish attacks on Kurdish militants in Iraq and Syria includes targeting water and electricity infrastructure in Kurdish regions of Syria, with Turkey claiming to have 'neutralized' 29 militants in Syria and northern Iraq, and stating that it has targeted 70 PKK-related bases in Syria and Iraq.