ANKARA: The Turkish government is gearing up to play a mediating role between the Iraqi central government and the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in Irbil to resolve their post-referendum dispute.
The mediation proposal was announced by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu on Wednesday at the state-run Anadolu Agency Editors’ Desk in Ankara.
“There are some requests (to Turkey) to mediate (between Irbil and Baghdad). I will go to Baghdad on Jan. 21. We will discuss this in addition to the bilateral issues, and our desire is to overcome these problems as soon as possible in the framework of Iraq’s territorial integrity,” he said.
Turkey has always voiced its opposition to the independence referendum that was held by the KRG on Sept. 25 last year, but it did not close its land border with the region despite calls from Baghdad.
In the first two weeks of December, KRG high-level officials visited France and Germany by taking the overland route through Turkey, and then taking a flight from there to discuss the deadlock on Irbil-Baghdad relations.
The statement follows an announcement by Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi on Tuesday at a news conference in Baghdad, which said that Iraq remains committed to its cooperation in various areas with Turkey, including border management, bilateral trade relations and oil shipments, especially from Mosul and Kirkuk.
According to official figures, the trade volume between Turkey and Iraq is currently around $8 billion, $2.5 billion of which is with northern Iraq. Much of this trade is conducted through the Habur border crossing whose control was recently handed over to Baghdad at Turkey’s initiative.
The construction of an oil pipeline to export Iraqi oil from Kirkuk area via Turkey’s Ceyhan port, on Turkey’s eastern Mediterranean coast, is also expected to be completed soon.
Experts think that Turkey, as a neutral actor that has resilient and longstanding ties with the two sides, is in a unique position to mediate between Baghdad and Irbil to resolve the crisis.
Bilgay Duman, an expert on Iraqi affairs at Ankara-based think tank ORSAM, said Ankara has always supported the dialogue process within Iraq, and considered both sides as complementary to each other, rather than being alternative.
“Turkey wants stability at its doorstep. It saw any independence attempt of Irbil as a red line and always supported Iraq’s stability and territorial integrity,” Duman told Arab News.
According to Duman, any continuing instability might allow the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) based in northern Iraq to fill a power vacuum in the territories near the Turkish border.
It is not the first time Ankara has played a mediation role in Iraq, especially considering its key geographic position for the transit of oil.
“It acted before as a key facilitator between Irbil and Baghdad between 2013-2015 for regulating the profits from oil exports and helping them to reach to an agreement,” Duman said.
On Jan. 4, KRG’s Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani met with the new Turkish Consul General to Irbil, Hakan Karacay, who expressed Ankara’s readiness to help mend Irbil-Baghdad ties.
“Irbil faces widespread anti-government protests mainly due to the deteriorating economic conditions, while Baghdad wants to overcome all bilateral problems and solely concentrate on the upcoming local and general elections due to be held on May 12,” Duman said.
However, Duman thinks that any rapprochement between Baghdad and Irbil will contribute to the political, social and economic rights of Turkmens in Iraq who have been badly hurt by this crisis.
Turkey is interested in the Turkmen population in Iraq due to its ethnic, linguistic, religious, cultural and historical ties.
According to Muhanad Seloom, director of the Iraqi Center for Strategic Studies in London, Ankara has the capability to act as a mediator for several reasons.
“It is true that Turkey has vested interests in countering the rise of Kurdish ethno-nationalist aspirations, yet, Turkey has played a significant role in helping the KRG develop its economic and financial infrastructures,” Seloom told Arab News.
He explained that although Baghdad-Ankara relations were strained prior and during the war against Daesh due to differences over local and regional policies, especially in Iraq and Syria, the relations took a positive turn last October with the visit of the Iraqi premier to Ankara to discuss post-referendum actions with Ankara.
“During this visit, the two sides agreed to coordinate efforts to preserve the territorial integrity of Iraq and regional stability,” Seloom said.
Seloom thinks that for Turkey, playing a mediating role between Baghdad and Irbil will be very useful on many levels.
“Despite differences with the KRG over holding the independence referendum, the Turkish government relations with the KRG have not been completely destroyed due to deeply rooted financial and economic ties,” he said.
“For example, the KRG used to sell oil through Turkish ports and revenues were handled by financial institutions based in Turkey. Prior to the current crisis, Turkish companies were the main winners of KRG’s construction and services contracts,” he said.
Equally, Seloom thinks that the Turkish government wants to establish stronger economic ties with Baghdad by playing a role in resolving the crisis between Baghdad and Irbil.
“It is also important to note that the Turkish government seeks to counterbalance Iran’s increasing influence in Iraq. While Iran is dealing with its internal unrest, Turkey sees an opportunity to seize,” he said.
Turkey to mediate between KRG and Baghdad
Turkey to mediate between KRG and Baghdad
Aoun hails disarmament progress: ‘Lebanon achieved in 1 year what it had not seen in 4 decades’
- President Joseph Aoun highlights achievements during first year in office despite many challenges
- Army announced this month it had successfully disarmed Hezbollah in the south of the country
BEIRUT: Lebanese President Joseph Aoun confirmed on Tuesday that the country’s armed forces “are now the sole operational authority south of the Litani River, despite doubts, accusations of treason, insults and slander.”
Speaking at the Presidential Palace in Baabda during a traditional New Year meeting with members of the diplomatic corps and the heads of international missions, he highlighted what he viewed as Lebanon’s achievements since he took office on Jan. 9, 2025.
The government’s approval in August and September last year of plans to bring all weapons in the country under state control, and ensure the authority of the state across all Lebanese territory using its own forces, was “no minor detail,” he said.
“Lebanon achieved in one year what it had not seen in four decades,” he added, as he recalled taking office in a “deeply wounded state” that has suffered decades of institutional paralysis and economic crises.
Despite campaigns of distortion, intimidation and misinformation, and Israel’s failure to abide by the November 2024 ceasefire agreement, the changed reality on the ground over the past 12 months speaks for itself, he said.
“The truth is what you see, not what you hear,” Aoun said, pointing out that “not a single bullet was fired from Lebanon during my first year in office, except for two specific incidents recorded last March, the perpetrators of which were swiftly arrested by official authorities.”
The army carried out “extensive operations” to clear large areas of the country of illegal weapons regardless of who controlled them, the president continued, in line with the terms of the Nov. 27 ceasefire agreement with Israel, which he described as “an accord Lebanon respects and that was unanimously endorsed by the country’s political forces.”
These efforts reflected a determination to spare the country a return to the “suicidal conflicts that have come at a heavy cost in the past,” he added.
Aoun stressed his commitment during the second year of his presidency to restoring control of all Lebanese territory to the exclusive authority of the state, securing the release of prisoners, and the reconstruction of war-ravaged areas.
He said that southern Lebanon, like all of the country’s international borders, would fall under the sole control of the Lebanese Armed Forces, putting a definitive end to any attempts “to draw us into the conflicts of others, even as those same parties pursue dialogue, negotiations and compromises in pursuit of their own national interests.”
The Lebanese Army Command announced early this month the completion of the first phase of its plans to disarm nonstate groups south of the Litani River. The government is now awaiting an army report next month detailing its next steps.
Gen. Rodolphe Haykal, the army’s commander, has said that the plan “does not have a specific time frame for completing this phase, which encompasses all Lebanese regions.”
A Lebanese official confirmed to Arab News that the army now has exclusive control of territory south of the Litani River, and no other armed forces or military factions have a presence there.
Aoun’s affirmation of his determination to “stay on course” came two days after Hezbollah leader Naim Qassem gave a sharply worded speech that delivered both implicit and explicit rebukes aimed at the president and Foreign Minister Youssef Raji.
His criticisms focused on their efforts to take control of weapons north of the Litani River, following a declaration by Aoun that “the time for arms is over,” a position that Hezbollah vehemently rejects in what appears to be an attempt to derail the gradual, phased disarmament strategy embraced by the Lebanese government and the international community.
Progress in the efforts of the military to take control of all weapons in the country hinges on securing vital logistical support for the country’s armed forces, a condition tied to the International Conference for Supporting the Lebanese Army and Internal Security Forces, which is due to take place on March 5 in Paris.
Aoun told the diplomats that the conference is the result of efforts led by the international Quintet Committee supporting Lebanon: the US, Saudi Arabia, France, Qatar and Egypt.
Archbishop Paolo Borgia, the papal ambassador to Lebanon, speaking in his role as dean of the diplomatic corps, said that the current crisis in the country serves “as a harsh test” that must remind political leaders of their duty to prevent history from repeating itself.
He called for respect for all electoral processes as a vital part of any nation’s democratic life, and for “genuine peace without weapons, one that can disarm enemies through the convincing power of goodness and the strength of meeting and dialogue.”
He added: “Those holding the highest public offices must give special attention to rebuilding political relationships peacefully, both nationally and globally, a process grounded in mutual trust, honest negotiations and faithful adherence to commitments made.”
