NEW YORK,— Turkey and Iraq said Wednesday they had reached a deal for Turkish troops to gradually hand over a military base in Bashiqa, in northern Iraq, to Iraqi government control.
The announcement followed talks in New York, where the two countries also agreed to end the presence of what they called “outlawed armed elements” in northern Iraq.
The agreement came after Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. In a joint statement, the two sides said they would strengthen security cooperation.
The statement said the leaders agreed to fully restore state authority in Sinjar and to remove outlawed foreign armed groups from the area, a reference to Kurdish militants who operate in that mountainous region.
Turkey is currently pursuing a peace process aimed at disarming fighters from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, to end a conflict that has lasted for decades.
Under the deal, Turkish forces will withdraw from the Bashiqa-Zelikan base near Mosul in stages, following an agreed timeline and security steps taken by Iraq.
An Iraqi military commander familiar with the discussions said the pullout from Bashiqa and a nearby smaller base is expected to finish by the end of this year. Turkey has not confirmed that timeline.
Turkish troops first arrived near Mosul in 2015. Ankara said the deployment was meant to train and protect Iraqi forces, along with Sunni Arab, Turkmen and Kurdish fighters battling the Islamic State group, which had taken over Mosul in 2014.
The move angered Baghdad, which called for the troops to leave, while Turkey insisted it was backing the fight against the militants. Turkey continues to operate other bases in the region, which it says protect its national security.
Tom Barrack, the U.S. ambassador to Turkey and special envoy for Syria and Iraq, praised the agreement, saying it served both Iraqi sovereignty and Turkish security interests.
The joint statement also noted that the two leaders discussed trade and broader ties, calling for faster action on existing agreements and ongoing strategic projects.
The statement made no mention of Turkish troops withdrawing from Iraqi Kurdistan (Bashur Kurdistan), where Turkey maintains more than 100 military bases and thousands of troops, according to reports.
Political analyst Henase Karim told iKurd.net News that, “Based on history, Turkey has never withdrawn from any territory it has occupied and will not withdraw from Iraqi Kurdistan, Syrian Kurdistan, Northern Cyprus, Libya, or other occupied areas.”
Some observers say these territorial disputes with Turkey will only be resolved through military force.
(With files from Reuters)
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