Turkey, Iraq Work to Renew Ties
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari’s visit to Ankara last week suggests Turkey is trying to adjust its approach to its neighbors.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Friday, Oct. 26, during a joint news briefing with visiting Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari that Turkey always considered Iraqi-Turkish relations as a fundamental element of stability in the region.
Taking this as the principled guideline, though, it could be difficult to make sense of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP)’s harsh criticism of the main opposition Republican People’s Party leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu’s visit to Baghdad in August — almost with a tone of equating it to treason.
In that light, Zebari’s visit to Ankara, and Davutoglu’s announcement that he will be traveling to Baghdad in the first half of November may suggest the following:
Turkey is trying to adjust its approach to its neighbors, and attempting to renew its close cooperation and dialogue. But with Davutoglu in charge, these efforts may not go deep enough to resolve the real issues, such as addressing complaints that Turkey is meddling in the domestic affairs of its neighbors.
