Iraq, Turkiye FMs meet to discuss security, water issues

The Turkish and Iraqi foreign ministers met this week to discuss bilateral relations and joint cooperation, in an effort to resolve a number of longstanding issues relating to security and water resources between the two countries.

According to the Iraqi News Agency (INA), Iraq’s Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein met with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan in Ankara on Tuesday, with a joint statement clarifying that “During bilateral talks between the two sides, comprehensive consultations were held on bilateral and regional issues, particularly in the areas of counterterrorism, security, and water.”

The statement said that both foreign ministers, along with their delegations and senior security officials, “agreed to continue developing relations between the two countries in all fields, ensuring comprehensive institutional cooperation.”

عقدنا اجتماعاً بناءً مع وزير الخارجية #التركي السيد @HakanFidan ناقشنا فيه القضايا ذات الاهتمام المشترك لا سيما التعاون الامني والاستخباراتي، كما تطرقنا الى الوضع الراهن في المنطقة والعدوان على الشعب #الفلسطيني في #غزة. pic.twitter.com/FXdoclXr94

— Fuad Hussein | فؤاد حسين (@Fuad_Husseein) December 19, 2023

A key focus of the talks reportedly focused on security cooperation, with Turkish minister Fidan expressing Ankara’s anticipation and expectation for Baghdad to officially recognise the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) as a terrorist organisation, particularly emphasising the need to prevent the group from launching attacks against Turkiye from Iraq’s northern territories.

According to some reports such as that of Al-Araby Al-Jadeed, however, the Iraqis also expressed their concerns over Turkiye’s air strikes on the Kurdish territories in its north, where the Turks say they aim to eliminate alleged elements of the PKK. The Iraqi delegation reportedly intended to exert pressure on Turkiye to cease the air strikes – a demand Baghdad has long made so as to protect Iraq’s territorial integrity.

Hussein and his delegation also reportedly aimed to bring up the issue of Iraq’s water security, which the government has insisted is impeded by the damming of water from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers which impacts the downstream flow of water to Iraq.

READ: Water levels in Iraq’s Tigris and Euphrates rivers hit new lows