Turkey’s Erdogan meets KRG President Barzani ahead of Iraqi Kurdistan vote
Barzani’s visit comes just amid Turkey's nascent attempt to use diplomacy, alongside ongoing military measures, to solve the 40-year-old Kurdish conflict.
ANKARA — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met on Wednesday with Nechirvan Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Regional Government, who paid an official visit to Ankara four days ahead of the long-delayed elections in Iraqi Kurdistan.
The semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq is set to hold parliamentary elections on Sunday. The elections, which were originally supposed to be held in 2022, were postponed four times due to disagreements between the Turkey-allied Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iraq and its main political rival, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.
Prior to his meeting with Erdogan, Barzani met with Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and National Intelligence Agency chief Ibrahim Kalin. The two also joined the leaders’ meeting later on Wednesday.
During the meeting, Erdogan expressed his hope that the elections "would be conducted with an inclusive approach, in peace and tranquility," according to a Turkish readout.
