Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan confirmed that his country aims to raise the volume of trade exchange with Iraq to more than 20 billion dollars annually, while Iraq’s announcement described the Kurdistan Workers’ Party as a “terrorist organization” and “important” in the field of combating terrorism.
This came in a speech he addressed to the Turkish people, yesterday evening, Monday, after he chaired a government meeting in the presidential complex in the capital, Ankara, according to what was published by the official Turkish Anatolia Agency on Tuesday morning.
Erdogan said in his speech, “I want the matter to be known; as long as the PKK finds an outlet for itself in Iraq and Syria, we cannot feel safe at all.”
The Turkish President touched on his visit to Iraq on April 22, and the “important” results it achieved, especially after his meeting with his Iraqi counterpart, Abdul Latif Rashid, and Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani.
Erdogan indicated that they discussed in detail the issues on their joint agenda, especially security, transportation, energy and water, and stated that the visit culminated in the signing of 27 agreements in various fields.
The Turkish President confirmed that their goal is to raise the volume of trade with Iraq from $20 billion to higher levels.
He praised the Iraqi government’s declaration of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) as a “terrorist organization” and considered the step “important” in the context of the war on terrorism.
On March 15, Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Guler, accompanied by Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and the head of the Intelligence Service, Ibrahim Kalin, visited Baghdad to participate in a security meeting between the two countries.
During the visit, the Iraqi government classified the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which is against the regime in Ankara, as a “terrorist” organization for the first time and announced its ban on its territory, according to Anadolu.
