Ankara-Baghdad-Arbil vow joint anti-PKK fight

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım's two-day visit to Iraq has resulted in mutual understanding among Ankara, Baghdad and Arbil to exert more efforts for a joint struggle against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has expanded its influence in northern Iraq. 

Ankara and Baghdad have also agreed to resolve a long-standing trouble in bilateral ties over the Turkish military's presence in Bashiqa in a friendly manner. 

"The PKK's expansion toward the West and finding shelter in Sinjar is not acceptable to us either. This is an issue of security. But not only Turkey's, it's also yours [the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government]. It's also an issue for the Iraqi central government. That's why there is a need to jointly work on this," Yıldırım told reporters on Jan. 8 in Arbil after talks with Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government President Massoud Barzani the same day in Arbil. 

Yıldırım moved to Arbil from Baghdad where he had important talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Jan. 7.

"Our meetings [in Baghdad and Arbil] could be put into two categories: The first is a joint fight against terror and the second is to work more on economy and investments as well as bring stability to the region," he said. 

Yıldırım's visit to Iraq is seen as a new beginning in ties between the two neighbors following months of crisis over Turkey's military camp in Bashiqa which purportedly aims to train local Sunni groups in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).

In Baghdad, Yıldırım and al-Abadi issued a joint statement highlighting a joint anti-terror stance and the need to resolve the Bashiqa issue. "The two parties have emphasized that they will not allow the presence and...