ANKARA: Turkiye is in discussions with Iraq to provide technical support to Baghdad for securing its borders to prevent movements of outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants around the region, a Turkish defense ministry official said on Thursday.
This announcement comes after Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan’s recent visits to Baghdad and Irbil, signaling a renewed focus on cross-border operations against PKK militants based in northern Iraq.
During Erdogan’s visit, Turkiye and Iraq reached agreements on a strategic framework overseeing security, trade, energy, and defense cooperation. A Turkish defense ministry official said that Turkiye expressed readiness to assist Iraq in implementing border security systems to enhance surveillance and control along their shared border.
“We told our counterparts that Turkiye is ready to provide assistance to Iraq on border security systems,” the official stated.
A delegation from Iraq had previously visited Turkiye to assess the border security systems offered by Turkiye. While Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani did not explicitly mention the PKK during a joint press conference with Erdogan, he affirmed the commitment of both countries to collaborate in bolstering border security. The PKK, designated as a terrorist organization by Ankara and its Western allies, has been a longstanding security concern for Turkiye.
The PKK initiated armed conflict against the Turkish state in 1984, and Turkiye has conducted several cross-border operations into northern Iraq since 2019 to combat the group’s activities in the region.
