(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) By Alaa Al-Huwaijel BAGHDAD, Oct 24 (KUNA) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi would start Wednesday an official visit to Turkey to discuss with Turkish officials next steps in dealing with the Kurdistan independence referendum repercussions.
The Iraqi premier did not visit Turkey since relations between the two neighboring countries sank a new low following Turkey's deployment of hundreds of heavily-armed forces to northern Iraq northern two years ago.
But it seems that the fear of the two countries from the independence of the Iraqi Kurdistan Province after the controversial independence referendum on September 25, have prompted both sides to let bygones be bygones and turn a new chapter of relations.
Turkey, which has a 20 million Kurds on the borders with Iraq, and neighboring Iran, which has a Kurdish population of up to 15 million fear that the Independence of the Iraqi Kurdistan would encourage other Kurdish minorities in Turkey, Iran and Syria to follow suit.
Advisor to the Iraqi Premiership Ihsan Al-Shammari told KUNA that Al-Abadi would discuss with Turkish officials during the visit a wide array of issues to boost bilateral cooperation.
These include the shifting Iraqi oil exports to Turkey a pipeline controlled by the federal government, and coordination with regard to border crossing between the two countries, he said.
He pointed out that Iraq would ask Turkish government to pull out its forces from northern Iraq in return for cooperation in chasing fighters of the Kurdistan People's Party (PKK), which is designated as a terrorist organization by Ankara.
The goal of the visit is to turn a new leaf in relations that would be based on fruitful cooperation and coordination to serve the interests of the two nations, Al-Shammari added.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi lawmaker Abdulrahman Al-Lowazi stressed that the most important objective of the visit is coordinating with Ankara to open a new border crossing point between the two countries other than that controlled by Kurdistan government.
He noted that talk is now focused on FeshKhabour crossing point on the Iraqi, Turkish, and Syrian borders.
Local media close to the Turkish government have recently published reports about expected agreement between the two countries to open a new border crossing point that is totally controlled by the Iraqi federal government, he told KUNA.
The new crossing would help achieve important political and economic goals, at the forefront of which separating Iraqi and Syrian Kurds and depriving Kurdistan government from a prime source of revenues, he argued.
He went on to say that the Iraqi government is eager on stopping the flow of Iraqi oil through the Kurdistan pipeline, and to shift to new government-run pipeline. He emphasized that Turkey and Iran are keen on helping Baghdad to control all crossing points with Turkey. He cited the recent Iraqi-Turkish military drills near FeshKhabour, as a proof of the improvement of bilateral relations.
He suggested that Prime Minister Al-Abadi has been keen on beefing up economic and trade relations with neighboring countries such as Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Shwan al-Dawoodi, a Kurdish lawmaker concurred that the visit aims to besiege Irbil and comes as a part of the counter measures taken by Baghdad, Ankara and Tehran in response to the Kurdistan Independence referendum. He noted that the three governments have decided to go ahead with their anti-Kurdistan measures. He expected that Ankara and Tehran would take all necessary measures to boost Iraqi government grip on Kurdistan's borders and oil fields. Dawoodi, however, cautioned Iraqi officials against Turkey. Turkey has its own agenda and economic relations with Kurdistan would not sacrifice all these for free, he said, stressing that the Turkish government would try to make the highest gains during talks with Iraqi counterpart. (end) ahh.ibi
MENAFN2410201700710000ID1095986028
Legal Disclaimer:
MENAFN provides the information “as is” without warranty of any kind. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for the accuracy, content, images, videos, licenses, completeness, legality, or reliability of the information contained in this article. If you have any complaints or copyright issues related to this article, kindly contact the provider above.