26.01.2025 15:11
The Foreign Minister Fidan made a call to Iraq and Syria, stating, "Cooperation in the fight against terrorism, particularly in our struggle against ISIS and the PKK, is of utmost importance. We must unite all our resources to eliminate both ISIS and the PKK."
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Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held a press conference in Baghdad with Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein. Fidan's statements were as follows: "I would like to thank my dear brother, my counterpart Fuad Hussein, for the warm hospitality. Today, we had the opportunity to discuss in detail the issues concerning both countries and the region. In the afternoon, we will meet with the President, the Prime Minister, and the Speaker of the Parliament."
We are talking about a strategic situation in our relations with our neighbor and brother Iraq. Our President, Mr. Erdoğan, made a historic visit to Iraq last year. During this visit, a total of 27 agreements and memorandums of understanding were signed. Two separate memorandums regarding the development project were signed during our President's visit. This project is very important for our region with its 'win-win' strategy. God willing, we aim to see concrete results as soon as possible. The trade volume between Turkey and Iraq has reached 20 billion dollars.
"LET'S ELIMINATE ISIS AND PKK"
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan stated, "Cooperation in combating terrorism, our struggle against ISIS and PKK is extremely important. We must combine all our resources and eliminate both ISIS and PKK. Our ultimate expectation from Iraq is to recognize the PKK, which it has declared a banned organization, as a terrorist organization as well. I want to emphasize this reality as strongly as possible: PKK targets Turkey, Iraq, and Syria. We must conduct a joint struggle against terrorism for the future of our region and the welfare of our peoples," he said.
IRAQI FOREIGN MINISTER: WE ADDRESSED SECURITY
Before Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, the Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein, speaking as the host country, said at the joint press conference in Baghdad, "We welcome my brother Hakan Fidan to Baghdad," and added, "Of course, we are addressing bilateral relations, and the relations between Turkey and Iraq are at a good level; we have had many contacts to further develop these relations. Political issues were, of course, one of the main topics. One of them was that we also addressed the developments surrounding the two countries in today's meeting, especially the developments in Syria. There is a consensus between the two countries regarding what can be done in Syria."
Today, we also addressed the security issue. We discussed what we can do with the new Syrian administration regarding ISIS and border security. He also evaluated the situation in the region in general. We addressed coordination issues regarding upcoming meetings. There will, of course, be discussions between the two countries.
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