ANKARA
Turkey stands firmly against the presence of foreign fighters in either Iraq or Syria, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Thursday.
"We want absolutely no foreign fighters in Iraq or Syria, whether they fight for the Syrian opposition or for ISIL," he said during a joint press conference with Iraqi PM Haider al-Abadi, who is paying a visit to Ankara.
The Turkish and Iraqi prime ministers spoke to the press after co-chairing the 2nd Turkey-Iraq High Level Strategic Cooperation Council meeting, which was launched in Baghdad in 2009.
"Foreign fighters must not be allowed access into Syria, no matter if they are fighting alongside the Syrian regime or fighting within the ranks of terrorist groups like ISIL, who are outsiders seeking dominance in those countries," Davutoglu said.
The Turkish premier added that Iraq belongs to the Iraqi people and that Syria belongs to the Syrian people "with all their resources and politics."
He said Turkey and Iraq agreed on taking a joint stance against all "terror" groups in the region, "whether it is the terrorist Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant or PKK."
PKK, or the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, has claimed about 40,000 lives in Turkey in the past three decades and is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU.
Davutoglu also reiterated Turkey's support for Iraq's central government, saying he considers the security threat posed by ISIL as a risk, not only for Iraq, but also for the wider region.
"Our attitude toward terrorist organizations like ISIL, who besieged Iraq and Syria, or the PKK, who attacked Turkey for decades through Iraqi soil, are absolutely the same," he added. "We are ready to support Iraq's security in any possible way."
During Thursday's council meeting, Davutoglu said the countries' defense ministers agreed to make more comprehensive efforts in training Iraqi security forces in their fight against ISIL.
Iraqi PM Abadi also highlighted the issue, saying Turkey and Iraq will cooperate to fight ISIL.
"There are meetings and negotiations with the Turkish brothers to help Iraq in the security and economic fields," he said. "Turkey and Iraq have common security ties. We care about Turkey's security and consider any party that threatens Turkey’s security a terrorist group."
"Iraq will not allow any terrorist organization to hurt Turkey's security," he added.
Abadi also said Iraq seeks support from Turkey in security, intelligence, military, training and arming against ISIL.
"ISIL is an international terrorist network and we need international aid as well. Frankly, we can handle reinforcing the courageous fighters who are already fighting in the areas occupied by ISIL, who are already in the struggle," he said. "We cannot support all the others who intend to fight ISIL as it is not possible. We should support fighters in Al Hirah, Anbar and Saladin who are already fighting ISIL."
- Turkey-Iraq cooperation in energy
Davutoglu said Turkey is ready for any kind of cooperation to help direct Iraq's rich energy resources into the worlds market, adding that Turkey will continue and further develop existing energy cooperation in line with the principles designated by the Iraqi constitution.
Abadi also said Iraq wants its oil to reach the global markets via Turkey.
Turkey's state-run Petroleum Refineries Corporation bought 520,000 barrels of oil from the Kurdish Regional Government in Iraq, Turkey's energy minister announced two week ago.
Iraq's crude oil distribution keeps flowing via Turkey despite threats from ISIL. On May 22, northern Iraqi oil began flowing from Turkey's southern Ceyhan port to international markets, despite a harsh reaction from the Baghdad government.
The recent deal between the Kurdish Regional Government and the Baghdad government in Iraq will allow the federal government to export 300,000 barrels of oil per day from Kirkuk's oil fields through the oil pipeline in the Kurdish region.
- Economic ties
Davutoglu said Iraq is one of Turkey's key foreign trade partners, with a bilateral trade volume of $12 billion in 2013.
"We have already surpassed $8 billion to $9 billion in the first nine months of 2014," he said, adding that a joint economic commission meeting in Iraq will take place in January.
Davutoglu also said that Turkey and Iraq see water as a key area of cooperation, adding that the two countries are ready to work together in managing water resources.
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