The head of Türkiye's National Intelligence Organization (MIT), Ibrahim Kalın, traveled to Irbil on Tuesday for a series of high-level meetings with top officials from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), amid developments in the terror-free initiative and growing regional tensions following the Iran-Israel conflict.
A key item on the agenda was Türkiye’s “Terror-Free Türkiye” initiative, as both sides discussed upcoming steps aimed at clearing the region of terrorist threats and removing terrorism from the regional agenda entirely, sources said.
Kalın met with Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani, KRG President Nechirvan Barzani, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, Interior Minister Reber Ahmed and senior members of the KRG Security Council, sources said.
Talks focused on the evolving security landscape after the recent war between Iran and Israel, as well as efforts to ensure regional peace and stability.
The two sides also addressed the protection and political representation of Iraq’s Turkmen community, with Turkish officials reaffirming Ankara’s firm support for Turkmens across Iraq.
Kalın underscored that contacts with both the central Iraqi government and KRG authorities would continue and intensify in the coming period.
Also on Tuesday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with Iraqi Council of Representatives Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani in Ankara.
Recent developments suggest a growing alignment between Türkiye and Iraq in terms of security policies. The two countries have strengthened coordination in political and security matters, particularly over the last two years.
The PKK terrorist group is expected to start the process of laying down arms in the coming days.
Some media outlets reported that members of the terrorist group would start disarmament in Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah this week, and a small group would be the first to symbolically abandon weapons. Senior members of the group told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that some “fighters” would destroy their weapons as a “goodwill gesture.”
Representatives of political parties in Iraq, local observers and the media will attend the ceremony, according to the media reports. PKK jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan would also issue a new message regarding disarmament, while a delegation from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) will meet Erdoğan next week before a visit to Öcalan.
