Will Turkish-Iraqi alliance against Kurds hold?
Ankara is happy that the Baghdad government has regained control over Kirkuk, but questions remain whether Turkey and Iraq can agree on the city’s future status.
Events show again how slippery a foundation politics in the Middle East sit on. A year ago I argued in this column that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) would remain Turkey’s main ally in Iraq for the foreseeable future.
Ankara and Baghdad were trading insults then over Iraq’s categorical refusal to allow Turkey to participate in the liberation of Mosul from the Islamic State (IS). Baghdad was also demanding that “uninvited” Turkish troops at the Bashiqa camp near Mosul be withdrawn.
