Top Kurdistan Region officials discuss security with Turkish defense minister in Erbil

Mustafa Shilani 2021/01/19 20:58

Masoud Barzani (Right) leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, with Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, Jan. 19th, 2021. (Photo: Barzani Headquarter)

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Senior Kurdistan Region officials met on Tuesday with Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar after he landed in the regional capital of Erbil on Monday night to hold talks with Kurdish officials following his visit to Baghdad.

Included in his accompanying delegation were Yasar Koller, Chief of Staff of the Turkish Army, and Turkish Consul General in Erbil Hakan Karacay.

Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani discussed security and stability in the region during his meeting with the Turkish officials. According to a KRG statement, Akar stressed further developing relations with both the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, both of which he said he considered "very important" for his country.

The defense minister pointed out that stability in the region and Iraq as a whole would contribute to strengthening the economy and development of the greater Middle East.

He also expressed his hope that talks to resolve outstanding issues between Erbil and Baghdad would continue "through dialogue within the framework of the constitution."

For his part, Barzani referenced the history of relations between the autonomous federal region of Iraq and Turkey, emphasizing the "foundations of harmony" between the two.

Later in the day, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani received the Turkish Defense Minister discussed the importance of stability in the region.

“President Barzani thanked Turkey for its cooperation with Iraq and the Kurdistan Region in the war against ISIS, reiterating the emphasis on not allowing the lands of Iraq and the Kurdistan Region to be used as a starting point for any threat towards Turkey and the neighboring countries,” read a statement from Barzani's office, a clear reference to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) which is fighting a decades-long insurgency against Ankara over Kurdish rights in Turkey.

The statement concluded that the two sides also stressed the importance of implementing the Sinjar (Shingal) Agreement between the Kurdistan Region and the federal Iraqi government, a major topic of conversation between the delegation and Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani earlier that day.

Editing by John J. Catherine