Turkish Defence Minister arrives in Erbil
Shafaq News / Turkish Defence Minister Yaşar Güler arrived in Erbil, Kurdistan Region’s capital, on Tuesday evening, heading a high-level delegation.
The Regional Department of Foreign relations stated that the Turkish Defence Minister along with the chief of the Turkish General Staff Metin Gürak, arrived in Erbil this evening.
According to the statement, they were received by the Minister of Peshmerga Affairs, Shoresh Ismail, and the official responsible for foreign relations, Savin Dizayee.
Earlier today, the Turkish delegation met with Iraqi President Abdullatif Rashid and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani. During the meeting, Al-Sudani reiterated his government's rejection of violating Iraq's sovereignty and settling scores between regional or international players on its soil.
He said that the security situation in Iraq and Turkey is intertwined and called for expanding and intensifying the cooperation between the different security bodies in a bid to facilitate the establishment of development initiatives like the Development Road project.
The Turkish diplomats conveyed President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's greetings to PM Al-Sudani, emphasizing their country's interest in developing mutual intelligence and Counter-Terrorism efforts.
The two statespersons exchanged views on the situation of the besieged Gaza Strip and urged the international community and global powers to address the plight of the Palestinian people who have been under heavy Israeli bombardment since October 7, 2023.
During the meeting with President Rashid, the talks touched upon water and border disputes. The Iraqi president defended Iraq's sovereignty and called for halting the violations of Its territories. He said that "the disputes between Ankara and Baghdad should be resolved via specialized committees and dialogue between the governments."
The president said that Turkey's decision to suspend flights to Iraq's al-Sulaymaniya airport affects the economic interests of both countries and the progress of mutual energy and commercial projects.
