Turkey in Iraq to promote stability, Davutoglu says

ANKARA

Turkey’s presence in Iraq is to promote stability in the region, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said late Wednesday.

“Our existence in Iraq is to ensure the stability of the region because we do not want to be neighbors with Daesh,” Davutoglu said. “Therefore, we will support both Iraq and the Kurdish region on all terms.”

His remarks came as the president of Iraq’s Kurdish region, Massoud Barzani, paid an official visit to Ankara to discuss the fight against terrorism.

During a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the two leaders stressed the significance of cooperation, presidential sources said.

Barzani’s visit came amid a diplomatic row with Baghdad over Turkish troops based near Mosul in northern Iraq, where they are training Kurdish peshmerga fighters.

Davutoglu announced that the head of the National Intelligence Organization Hakan Fidan and Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu would travel to Baghdad on Thursday.

ANKARA

Turkey’s presence in Iraq is to promote stability in the region, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said late Wednesday.

His remarks came as the president of Iraq’s Kurdish region, Massoud Barzani, paid an official visit to Ankara to discuss the fight against terrorism.

During a meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the two leaders stressed the significance of cooperation, presidential sources said.

Barzani’s visit came amid a diplomatic row with Baghdad over Turkish troops based near Mosul in northern Iraq, where they are training Kurdish peshmerga fighters.

Davutoglu announced that the head of the National Intelligence Organization Hakan Fidan and Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu would travel to Baghdad on Thursday.