By Yunus Soner
Last week, Türkiye and Iraq signed an agreement on military and security. We asked Ceyhun Bozkurt, Turkish international politics expert, about the content and the effects of the agreement.
To begin with, what is the content of the agreement?
On August 15, Türkiye and Iraq’s Internal Affairs Ministers, Defense Ministers, Foreign Ministers and Intelligence Officials came together and held the first meeting of the high-level security mechanism. Firstly, as you know, President Erdoğan went to Iraq in April. Twenty-seven agreements and memorandums of understanding had been agreed upon then. The meeting on August 15 started to bear serious consequences of that for the security mechanisms.
Within the scope of the developing relations between Türkiye and Iraq, the Ministers of Defense of Türkiye and Iraq signed a memorandum of understanding on Military Security Cooperation and the fight against terrorism at the meeting. The two main topics that stood out in this memorandum of understanding were as follows. The first one is the Armed Forces of Türkiye and Iraq decided to establish a joint security coordination center in Baghdad where Turkish Forces will also be located. This memorandum of understanding includes this.
The second important decision is that Türkiye transfers the base it had established in the Bashiqa region, close to Mosul, in 2015, to the Iraqi Armed Forces, within the scope of the fight against ISIS.
This base will operate as a joint training and cooperation center between Türkiye and Iraq, within the structure of the Iraqi Armed Forces. Of course, this has important consequences. The recently developing relations between Türkiye and Iraq are not limited to the military and security dimension.
They also have a trade dimension, as in the Development Road Project, that may have effects of global scale. Work on this project has begun, and an agreement was reached. Qatar and the United Arab Emirates also support this. At the same time, there is a compromise between Iraq and Türkiye regarding the water issue. Also, agreements were reached on issues such as electricity and energy. It seems that the two countries recognize to have a common destiny, so to speak.
Iraq started prohibiting political parties affiliated with the PKK
Of course, this process had positive reflections on Türkiye in the context of security. It was in the month of august, 40 years ago, that the PKK started its terror activities.
Now, Iraq’s has started to intervene against the PKK in a harsher way. First, the PKK was declared a banned organization. Then, recently, three political parties, with concrete data and evidence showing their affiliation with the PKK, were closed. Their activities were stopped. This was again a blow to the PKK in Iraq.
At the same time, the coordination of the Iraqi central government and the regional administration in Erbil is very effective and important in the fight against the PKK terrorist organization of the Turkish Armed Forces within the borders of Iraq. This made a serious contribution to the development of relations between Türkiye and Iraq.
Some try to destabilize Iraq so that US soldiers return to that country
What will be the regional consequences of this agreement?
It will have very serious effects on the region. Because the invasion of Iraq and the security problems that occurred after that brought many problems in our region in economy, trade, sociological transformations, changes, demographic transformations, and especially security. Iraq is still very much under its influence.
It is still experiencing the effects of the occupation and trying to heal its wounds. Negotiations regarding the withdrawal of US soldiers are taking up pace. Recently, some started trying to destabilize Iraq again. America’s soldiers are trying to return to Iraq. They came back to Kirkuk, four years after having left.
So, ISIS is trying to bring those terrorists to Iraq again. Thus, they want instability in Iraq to continue.
But the common approach of Türkiye and Iraq is that the two countries, especially Iraq, becomes safe, creating a safe ground for Türkiye. This will guarantee security against terrorist organizations, keeping them from taking shelter in Iraq.
Turkish-Iraqi base agreement may present an example for Syria too
At the same time, the development of trade between the two countries, Iraq being an important trade partner for Türkiye, will also affect them.
But of course, this will have repercussions on other countries as well. For example, it will have a reflection on the Syrian field. Because, for example, one of Syria’s most important conditions in the process of normalization with Türkiye is that Türkiye withdraws its military presence from Syria, currently in the operation areas.
If a safe environment is created in Türkiye and Syria, if there is an agreement with Syria, if a common approach and a common destruction process is put into effect towards the PYD, the Syrian branch of the PKK terrorist organization, Türkiye already says that it respects Syria’s territorial integrity and sovereignty on this issue.
The transfer of another base to the Iraqi Armed Forces, as per the agreement reached with Iraq, is striking in that it shows Türkiye’s respect for Iraq’s territorial integrity and sovereignty. It will set an example for the Syrian issue. At the same time, the destruction of the PKK terrorist organization in Iraq means that the PYD terrorist organization has become completely surrounded in the region.
Because the PYD terrorist organization receives a lot of support from the PKK, which acts together with the PUK in the north of Iraq. The United States also sends all its support to the PYD through Iraq. Militants of the PKK terrorist organization also provide transit through Iraq. As the PKK is neutralized in Iraq, the PYD terrorist organization will also weaken.
This will provide serious advantages to both Syria and Türkiye in terms of destroying the PYD terrorist organization, which has occupied 1/3 of Syria. It will also be effective in terms of regional dynamics, leading to isolation and siege of the PYD.
This will also have effects for Iran and for Syria’s ally, Russia.
Because the PKK-PYD being an apparatus of America, its interference into the region also disturbs the countries. It disturbs Russia, it disturbs China. In this respect, the agreement between Türkiye and Iraq actually affects not only Türkiye, but also the region, the Mediterranean geography, and the Palestinian struggle positively. It will benefit the countries and the people in the region.