Baghdad: For the PKK terrorist group and its offshoots, territory in which to hide continues to narrow in the triangle formed by Ankara, Baghdad and Irbil.
Cooperation between Ankara and Baghdad as well as Ankara and Irbil will soon lead to a number of very important developments in the field of combating terrorism. It seems that the biggest and ultimate goal of this trilateral synergy will be the complete removal of the PKK and its offshoots in the region from the Iraqi-Syrian-Turkish border. This week, National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Chief of General Staff Gen. Yaşar Güler made a surprise visit to Iraq and had an intense schedule of talks in Irbil and Baghdad. They held nine important meetings in just 36 hours, including with the leaders of the central and regional government, namely Iraqi President Barham Salih, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, Iraqi Interior Minister Othman al-Ghanmi in Baghdad and former Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) leader Massoud Barzani, KRG President Nechirvan Barzani, KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani as well as the Iraqi Turkmen Front in Irbil. From the statements made by Akar and his interlocutors after the talks, the outcomes of this visit are quite evident in many respects. The most important of these are the following results. Cooperation by establishing appropriate mechanisms in the coming period may lead to a number of very important developments in the fight against terrorism. –PNP
