Ankara, Baghdad turn over new leaf in relationship
Prospects for political, economic and security cooperation between Ankara, Baghdad and Erbil look much better today despite issues that have to be ironed out.
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s visit to Baghdad last week, the first by a Turkish prime minister since 2011, has prepared the ground for improved relations between the two countries following a period of tension under former Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Davutoglu’s visit also comes shortly after the ice-breaking visit to Ankara by Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari in early November. The two countries are trying to pick up from where they left off a year ago, when Davutoglu, who was foreign minister at the time, visited Baghdad in an attempt to improve ties.
Relations, however, remained tense as Maliki continued to accuse Turkey of agitating the country’s minority Sunnis, and contributing to Iraq’s division by finalizing separate energy deals with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
Ankara, in turn, accused Maliki of discriminating against Iraq’s Sunni minority and argued this had also spawned radical Sunni groups like the Islamic State (IS). Davutoglu repeated this accusation just before flying to Baghdad on Nov. 20.
