Türkiye calls for joint battle against Kurdish militants, ISIS in region

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Sunday after talks in Baghdad that a joint fight must be waged using “all our resources” to eliminate Islamic State and Kurdish militants in the region.

According to Reuters, Fidan's visit to Iraq came amid repeated calls from Turkey to dissolve the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) in northeastern Syria after the fall of President Bashar al-Assad last month, with Ankara vowing to launch a new cross-border operation against the units unless its concerns are addressed.

The YPG is the main faction of the US-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and Turkey considers it a terrorist group and an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), against which Ankara regularly carries out cross-border military operations in the mountainous regions of northern Iraq.

Ankara and the West classify the PKK as a terrorist organization.

Before the fall of the Assad regime, the SDF was the United States' main partner in the war against ISIS in Syria.

During a joint press conference with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein, Fidan said he had once again conveyed Turkey's expectations from Iraq regarding the official classification of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) as a terrorist organization, after Baghdad classified it as a "banned organization" last year.

“I would like to strongly emphasize this fact: The PKK targets Turkey, Iraq and Syria. For the future of our region and the prosperity of our peoples, we must wage a joint fight against terrorism,” Fidan said.

"We must destroy ISIS (Islamic State) and the PKK with all our might," he added, noting that during his visit he discussed possible cooperation mechanisms in the areas of intelligence and operations, as well as the participation of regional countries in the war against ISIS.

Relations between Turkey and Iraq have been strained in recent years over Ankara’s cross-border military operations. But ties have improved since Baghdad designated the PKK a “banned organization” and the neighbors agreed to hold high-level security talks.

Turkey's Defense Ministry said on Sunday that its forces had killed 13 PKK militants in northern Iraq.

Since the Syrian opposition ousted Assad, the Kurdish factions in Syria have been in a difficult position. Negotiators from the new Syrian administration, the United States, Turkey and the Syrian Democratic Forces are working to reach a possible agreement on the fate of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party.

Iraq's foreign minister said on Thursday that Türkiye's attack on Kurdish fighters in northern Syria carries risks and will increase the refugee problem.

Reuters