Turkey appreciates Iraq's efforts against PKK, Erdoğan says

Turkey appreciates the operations conducted by Iraqi authorities against the PKK terrorist group, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Thursday at a joint news conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi in the capital Ankara.

Underlining that Turkey and Iraq have agreed to continue fighting against the "common enemies," namely the PKK, Daesh and the Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ), Erdoğan said that separatist terrorism has no place in the future of Turkey, Iraq or Syria.

Erdoğan also called for the repair of the Iraqi oil pipeline damaged by the Daesh terrorist group and the resumption of the transfer of Kirkuk oil to the global market.

Al-Kadhimi, for his part, said that Iraq cannot tolerate any formation that threatens Turkey's security, referring to the joint fight against the common enemies Erdoğan listed.

He also said that in cooperation with Turkey, Iraq can rebuild from the devastation Daesh left in the country.

In 2017, Iraq declared victory over Daesh by reclaiming all its territory, about a third of the country's area, invaded in 2014. But the terror outfit still maintains sleeper cells and launches attacks periodically. The Iraqi army continues to carry out anti-terror operations.

In its more than 40-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU, has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.

The PKK managed to establish a foothold in northern Iraq's Sinjar in mid-2014 under the pretext of protecting the local Yazidi community from the Daesh terrorist group. Since then, the PKK has reportedly established a new base in Sinjar for its logistical and command-and-control activities. Around 450,000 Yazidis escaped Sinjar after Daesh took control of the region in mid-2014.

Turkey has long stressed that it will not tolerate threats posed to its national security and has called on Iraqi officials to take the necessary steps to eliminate the terrorist group. Ankara previously noted that if the expected steps are not taken, it would not shy away from targeting terrorist threats, particularly in Sinjar.

The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) regularly conducts cross-border operations in northern Iraq, a region where PKK terrorists have hideouts and bases from which to carry out attacks in Turkey. The KRG had previously called the PKK's presence in Sinjar unacceptable and urged the militants to leave the area.

Following the announcement of a deal signed between the central government in Baghdad and the KRG in October to restore stability in Sinjar, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said it hoped the agreement would enable the reinstatement of Iraqi authorities’ control in Sinjar and lead to the eradication of the Daesh and PKK terrorist groups and their offshoots from the region.