Turkish delegation holds security talks with Iraqi officials in Baghdad

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A high-ranking Turkish delegation led by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has arrived in Baghdad and was received by Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein.

The Turkish delegation included Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, the director of the National Intelligence Organization of Turkey İbrahim Kalın and Deputy Interior Minister Munir Karaoğlu.

The Iraqi delegation, led by Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, included Iraq’s National Security Advisor, Qasim Al-Araji, Defense Minister Thabet Muhammad Al-Abbasi, Interior Minister of the Kurdistan Region Reber Ahmed, and the chairman of the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Forces (PMFs) Faleh al-Fayaz.

Although no official statement was issued on the content of the meeting, in a message on the social network X, the Turkish Foreign Ministry only referred to the security meeting between the two countries, including the Iraqi Foreign Ministry.

Earlier, a Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman announced, “The issue of exporting oil from the Kurdistan Region from the port of Ceyhan is one of the topics of discussion between Iraqi and Turkish officials.”

He added that, “Turkey has made all preparations to resume exports and it is the Iraqi government that is preventing the resumption.”

On Wednesday, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) spokesperson Peshawa Hawramani, stressed in a press conference, “There are no technical obstacles to the export of oil from the Kurdistan Region and the only obstacle is political issues.”

The visit comes after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on February 26 that he intends to visit Iraq after the municipal elections at the end of March this year.

It is expected that topics such as the issues pertaining to water and dam constructions, PKK, trade, and oil be at the center of discussions between the Turkish President and the Iraqi government.

On March 12, Turkish Deputy Foreign Minister Ahmet Yildiz, who was in Baghdad, said that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Iraq before the end of April.

A source in the Iraqi Council of Ministers told Kurdistan24 that the Turkish delegation will discuss the three main objectives of their visit with Iraqi government officials, namely the resumption of oil through the port of Ceyhan and strengthening the borders between Iraq and Turkey, and preparations for the President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Erbil and Baghdad in the near future.