SULAIMANI (ESTA) — Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said Turkey is determined to protect its borders from “terrorist threats” during a meeting with his Iraqi counterpart.
Iraqi Defense Minister Juma Inad visited Turkey on Sunday at the request of the Turkish defense minister, according state news agency INA.
Inad and Hulusi met on Monday to discuss bilateral talks and regional issues, state-owned Anadolu news agency reported.
Akar told Inad who led a government delegation that Turkey “respects the political and territorial integrity of all its neighbors, especially Iraq,” Anadolu cited the Turkish defense minister as saying.
He also expressed “satisfaction with bilateral cooperation” with the Iraqi government in the fight against terrorism, the news agency said.
“The Turkish Armed Forces are determined to protect its borders and end the terrorist threat,” Akar was cited as saying.
Inad’s visit came after Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi leading a high-level delegation visited Ankara on December 17 at the request of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Erdogan said Ankara and Baghdad agreed to continue their cooperation in fighting Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and that they viewed the PKK as their “common enemies”.
“There is no place for separatist terrorism in Turkey, Iraq or Syria,” Erdogan said. “Our region will not find peace until terrorism is quashed.”
Kadhimi also said during his visit to Ankara that Iraq would not allow any groups to use Iraqi soil for attacks inside Turkey, and that it was cooperating with Ankara to confront terror groups.
Turkey has conducted numerous ground and aerial cross-border offensives into neighboring northern Iraq to attack PKK fighters, who maintains bases in the region.
The PKK’s insurgency against the Turkish state is believed to have killed tens of thousands of people since being launched in 1984.
