Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says his administration has reached an agreement with Turkey over Baghdad’s demand for the withdrawal of Turkish military forces from a camp in the north of Iraq.

Abadi made the announcement on Saturday after he met with visiting Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim in the capital.

During a joint press conference, Yıldırım said that the issue of Turkish troops in Bashiqa camp near Mosul will be solved with Iraq in a friendly way in line with clearing ISIL terror group. Explaining that the troops were stationed in Bashiqa out of a necessity, Yıldırım said that great measures have been covered to clear ISIL from the region.

Yıldırım added that two parties have agreed to make the necessary efforts will be made in coordination with Peshmerga and Iraqi troops to clear Sinjar from terrorist elements, referring to PKK presence in the area. “For us, terror is the same no matter where it comes from. Therefore, Sinjar poses a primary threat for Turkey and we thank Dear Prime Minister’s sensitivity to leave this threat aside. We are ready to do necessary cooperation in this issue too,” Yıldırım said.

Yıldırım expressed his gratitude to Abadi for his latest statement that said Iraq won’t allow PKK to use its sovereign territory to damage Turkey.

Noting that the trade volume between Turkey and Iraq have fallen from $12 billion in 2012 to $7 billion in 2016, Yıldırım said that reasons for the decrease is apparent and the issue was covered in the meeting.

Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci, Energy and Natural Resources Minister Berat Albayrak, Customs and Trade Minister Bülent Tüfenkci, Education Minister Ismet Yılmaz and Defense Minister Fikri Işık are accompanying Yıldırım in the crucial visit.

Source: Websites