Iran Chief of Staff visits Ankara amid Kurdish move for independence

ANKARA, Turkey (Kurdistan 24) - Iranian Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces Mohammad Baqeri arrived in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Tuesday, beginning his three-day trip to hold talks with high ranking military and political leaders, including his counterpart Hulusi Akar and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Akar and Baqeri, accompanied by a delegation of generals and diplomats, sat down at the headquarters of the Turkish General Staff shortly after the latter's arrival.

Kurdistan 24's Ankara Bureau said there was no information regarding the content of the meeting provided to the media.

Iranian and Turkish state media reported that the wars in Iraq and Syria, bilateral military relations and border cooperation were among the issues that the two sides would raise.

Baqeri's visit to Turkey, the first ever by an Iranian chief of staff, comes as both countries continue fighting Kurdish rebel groups struggling for political and cultural recognition in their respective territories.

Pro-government Turkish daily Sabah said the Kurdistan Region's quest to secede from Iraq through a referendum next month would be another topic Turks and Iranians would discuss.

While remaining at starkly opposite sides in Iraq and Syria, with different interests at play, the governments in Tehran and Ankara hold a shared view that the Kurdistan Region must not go for statehood.

Both countries fear the move will embolden Kurds within their borders to seek territorial autonomy, if not a similar bid for independence.

The Turkish President last month said the Kurdistan Region would regret holding the September 25 referendum, threatening a 'heavy price.'

Iran's Baqeri commented the same line, describing the step by the Kurds as 'unacceptable.'

The two countries' cooperation to counter Kurdish demands rose to a new level last week when Turkey began constructing a 144 kilometers-long (90 miles) wall on its porous border with Iran as a measure to keep Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) fighters at bay.

(Kurdistan 24's Ankara Bureau contributed to this report.)

Editing by G.H. Renaud