Turkish PM to visit Baghdad after Iraqi Kurdish referendum

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Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim will visit Baghdad soon for talks on a joint stance against the Iraqi Kurds' independence referendum and enhancing bilateral cooperation, Iraq's Ambassador to Ankara Hisham al-Allawi said on Friday.

"We are looking for a win-win position," Ambassador Hisham al-Alawi told reporters at a news conference in Ankara.

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim delivers a speech in Ankara on July 13, 2016. /AFP Photo

The ambassador also said Iraq wants to open a new border gate with Turkey at the Faysh Khabur crossing, which will bypass the Iraqi Kurdish region and will enable transfer from Turkey to Iraq through Mosul province.

Touching on further military cooperation possibilities between the two countries, he stressed the need for a withdrawal of Turkish troops from the Bashiqa camp in northern Iraq, an issue which has caused tension between Ankara and Baghdad.

Iraq's ambassador to Turkey Hisham Ali Akbar Ibrahim Al-Alawi (R) speaks to media during the press conference at Iraqi Embassy in Ankara, Turkey on January 11, 2017. /AFP Photo

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday that Turkey, Iraq and Iran would take joint countermeasures after an independence referendum by the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) on September 25.

Three countries will also form a tripartite mechanism to decide on closing the flow of oil from northern Iraq. And Turkey and Iraq have launched joint military exercises on their border.

Source(s): Xinhua News Agency