Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Turkey expects Iraq to combat the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) with the same determination it showed in the fight against Islamic State (ISIS).
Speaking to Iraq’s UTV television, Fidan said Turkey welcomed Iraq’s move to legally define the PKK as a threat, but said stronger action was needed to root out the group, which Ankara blames for the deaths of around 40,000 people in its four-decade insurgency.
“At the point we have reached in the fight against terrorism with Iraq, we expect the same approach against the PKK as Iraq applied to Daesh (ISIS),” Fidan said. “The PKK is occupying territory in Iraq, particularly Sinjar, and this poses a threat to both Iraq’s and the region’s security.”
The PKK is designated as a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. It has bases in northern Iraq and often uses the mountainous region to launch attacks on Turkish territory.
Fidan said Turkey had extended its defence and security capabilities to Iraq in recent years, as part of a wider strategic policy backed by President Tayyip Erdoğan. Twenty-seven cooperation agreements were signed during Erdoğan’s visit to Iraq last year, including on energy, trade, water, and the multi-billion-dollar Development Road infrastructure project linking the Persian Gulf to Turkey and Europe.
“Dozens of meetings have followed to implement those deals,” Fidan said, adding that Iraq’s natural wealth and human capital meant it could become a stabilising force in the region.
He also expressed support for Iraq’s unity and urged all groups – Shia, Sunni, Kurdish, Turkmen, and Yazidi – to work together to overcome the country’s lingering economic and political challenges.
PKK threat and regional dynamics
Fidan warned that allowing the PKK to remain in Iraq posed dangers not only to Turkey but also to Iraq itself, citing the group’s involvement in smuggling, corruption, and illegal recruitment.
“Iraq is a sovereign state with an army, police, and intelligence services. The presence of an armed group outside these structures undermines its sovereignty,” he said.
He reiterated Ankara’s position that the PKK must disarm and dissolve, as called for by its imprisoned leader Abdullah Öcalan, and warned that continued inaction would lead to further Turkish military operations.
Erbil ties, Sulaymaniyah concerns
Fidan praised cooperation with Kurdish leaders in Erbil, describing their stance on counterterrorism and energy as constructive. However, he criticised the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)-dominated administration in Sulaymaniyah for allegedly tolerating PKK presence.
“We hope our friends in Sulaymaniyah will, like those in Erbil, separate themselves from this terrorist group and focus on the well-being of their people,” he said.
On Turkmens and Syria
Fidan also voiced concern over the marginalisation of Iraqi Turkmens and called for their equal treatment. “Turkmens have never been separatists or terrorists,” he said.
He described a regional initiative including Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, Egypt, and Gulf states to set conditions for re-engagement with the Syrian government, stressing the importance of Damascus respecting minority rights and territorial integrity.
Fidan said Turkey supports stability in Syria and condemned recent sectarian violence on the coast, attributing it to remnants of the Assad regime seeking to incite conflict.
Israel’s Syria policy
Fidan criticised Israel’s military actions in Syria, calling them destabilising. “Israel is pursuing a policy that endangers even itself,” he said, adding that provocations risked wider regional fallout.
He suggested Israel might oppose a reported PKK/YPG deal with Damascus to disarm and dissolve, warning that supporting separatist groups could backfire.
Energy and Development Road Project
Fidan said Turkey was ready to buy Iraqi oil and gas and act as a transit route to European markets, but called for the reactivation of the halted Kirkuk-Ceyhan pipeline.
He also backed the inclusion of Syria in the Development Road Project. “Syria could join under certain formulas,” he said.
