President Gül heralds new era in Turkish, Iraqi ties

[-SINAN-]

Ankara and Baghdad are looking to bury the hatchet following recent tensions, with President Abdullah Gül hailing a new era in ties between the neighbors amid a visit by Iraq’s foreign minister to the Turkish capital.

“As you know, there was a chill in ties with Iraq. Both Turkey and Iraq have realized that this should be eliminated. As you may recall, I had emphasized the importance of Iraq in my [opening] speech of Parliament. There is no clash of interests between the two countries,” President Gül said Oct. 25 in the Central Anatolian province of Kayseri as Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari was visiting the Turkish capital, Ankara.

“Both our Cabinet and the Iraqi side are aware of it. A conflict of interest between Iraq and Turkey is out of the question. We have always supported the territorial integrity and political union of Iraq, and we have always embraced Iraq every time,” Gül said.

In a veiled response to charges that Turkey was playing the sectarian card in Iraq, Gül said Ankara recognized and maintained an equal distance with all segments of Iraqi society.

“If you do embrace a country, you shall embrace all of its citizens in order to have healthy, neighborly relations. We attach huge importance to this,” Gül said. “Thus a new era is beginning. Mutual visits are taking place. I am absolutely pleased.”

It was not only Turkey’s leaders who delivered bold remarks reflecting optimism about the future of relations.

“We agreed to take new steps in order to improve bilateral relations and to open new horizons,” Zebari told a joint press following talks with his counterpart, Ahmet Davutoğlu. “We have turned the old page and opened a new chapter in our relations,” Zebari said. The Iraqi minister said a new mechanism would be established between the two countries for political consultations and direct communication. “Our official channels and diplomacy channels are open,” he said.

For his part, as seen often when particularly speaking of neighboring countries, Davutoğlu deployed highly emotional language. “Turkey and Iraq, I am saying this without any exaggeration, have the most powerful infrastructure to develop strategic relations with each other. We have never considered Iraq different from us. We have considered Iraq’s welfare, happiness and peace as our peace and happiness. Iraq is the spine of peace and stability in the Middle East,” Davutoğlu said, arguing that the two years of tension in bilateral ties stemmed from circumstance and was only “temporary.”

“These meetings have been meetings which have been eyed with longing. We may again have different convictions and differences of opinions, but we can produce synergy by discussing and arriving at beneficial conclusions out of it. This meeting is the demonstration of the end of the stagnation and a manifestation showing that the relations will increase at every level in the next term, most of all between the prime ministers.”

Zebari, whose first meeting in Ankara upon his arrival on the evening of Oct. 24 was with Gül, also met with Parliamentary Speaker Cemil Çiçek earlier on Oct. 25 and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Both Davutoğlu and Çiçek are expected to pay visits to Baghdad next month. The exact date of an expected visit by Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to Turkey will be set through consultations during these visits.
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@Doritos11

 

[-SINAN-]

Davutoğlu in Iraq to turn new page in troubled ties

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said Turkey and Iraq are opening a new page and that relations between the two countries are likely to get back on track ahead of his two-day visit to Iraq.

In response to reporters' questions on the way to Baghdad, Davutoğlu commented on his strategic visit to Iraq, saying there was a period of silence between Turkey and Iraq and now there is a great effort to overcome that situation.

“Some say that Turkey is revising its foreign policy. No. We didn't do anything that could have caused a pause in bilateral relations. There has been a moderation in the internal politics of Iraq. This [moderation] needs support. There is no need to discuss why relations were on the backburner. It is important to catch the rhythm of relations. It can be said that we are opening a blank page,” he said.

In the joint press conference with Davutoğlu in Baghdad on Sunday, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari also confirmed Davutoğlu's remarks, stating that a new page has now been opened in relations between Turkey and Iraq.

In his visit to Baghdad on Sunday, Davutoğlu met with Iraqi Vice President Khodair al-Khozaei and Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Saleh al-Mutlaq. The following day, he was scheduled to visit Najaf and Karbala and have a tête-à-tête with Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Husayni al-Sistani.

“There are no limits to relations and cooperation [between Turkey and Iraq],” Davutoğlu stated at the same press conference, underlining that in the fields of transportation, energy, trade, culture, health and agriculture especially there is vast potential for cooperation.

Davutoğlu said the bilateral visits between Turkey and Iraq were planned during Speaker of the Iraqi Council of Representatives Usama Abdul Aziz al-Nujayfi's visit to Turkey in mid-September, and Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek will visit Baghdad at the end of November to visit Nujayfi in return. He also explained that Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki will probably pay a visit to Ankara in December. “After Maliki's visit, there may be Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's visit to Baghdad,” Davutoğlu stated.

He stated that, in his meeting with Zebari, the two planned for future months, and at the beginning of December their technical teams will meet and conduct preparations for the next High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council. “Particularly the energy, transportation, trade and customs ministers will make reciprocal visits in the upcoming period,” he stated.

Davutoğlu stated that they are also dedicated to opening more border gates between Turkey and Iraq and increasing the number of flights between the two countries.

One of the main conflicts between the two concerned the Syrian crisis. While Turkey backs the opposition, Iraq is supporting the Syrian regime. Syria and other regional developments were also main agenda points of the foreign ministers' meeting.

Zebari stated there is a consensus on some issues related to Syria, however, the two countries do not share the same perspective. “Turkey and Iraq are agreed on the establishment of peace in Syria,” he expressed.

Davutoğlu said, in reference to the Syrian crisis, there would be tighter consultation mechanisms between the two countries and maintained that Turkey and Iraq will fight shoulder to shoulder against those who want to trigger sectarian and ethnic conflicts. “Of course, there can be a difference of opinions, but this also prepares the ground for cooperation,” he said on the Syrian crisis.

In his remarks explaining Iraq-Turkey relations, Davutoğlu explained that the mediation in Iraq over the last few months had played the most important role in developing relations and underlined that the meetings between Maliki and Nechirvan Barzani, the prime minister of Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), had prepared the necessary grounds for this.

“Turkey, Iraq and Iran relations are important for sectarian peace”
Davutoğlu also drew attention to a potential flare-up of sectarian conflict between Sunnis and Shiites as part of the Syrian conflict, saying the most important goal is to ease the tension in the region, ruin the plans of some parties who encourage sectarian clashes and create sectarian peace in Turkey-Iraq-Iran relations.

“We see the political structure [in Iraq] in which all ethnic groups and all sects are included as a disincentive for Sunni-Shiite clashes. Iraq is a little Middle East. If sectarian peace can be established in Iraq, the region will also reap the benefits. These developments between Turkey, Iran and Iraq will avert the scenario of sectarian clashes,” Davutoğlu told reporters and maintained: “So, the timing is important.”

Davutoğlu also commented on trade and economic relations with the KRG and said there was no illegality around their energy deals. He broke the news of possible trilateral deals between Ankara, Arbil and Baghdad, saying that there are projects underway to transfer the energy sources of north and south Iraq to the global market.

Turkey's economic relations with Arbil, particularly the oil deals, which bypassed Baghdad, angered the Iraqi central government, as it stressed that Turkey should ask before making any deals in the region. Turkey claimed that it was acting in compliance with the Iraqi federal constitution, which allocated shares of energy revenues to the KRG.

Davutoğlu also commented on the US's alleged role in the Ankara-Baghdad thaw, claiming Turkey and Iraq have been developing relations with their free will and that there is no input from a third country.

“The US will be satisfied with our relations getting back on track; however, it didn't advise or suggest anything. This is a progress that started with al-Nujayfi's Ankara visit,” he said.

Source

 

[Yzd Khalifa]

Good luck, but to us, no agreements with Iraq, period.

 

[ResurgentIran]

Good luck, but to us, no agreements with Iraq, period.

Why is that?
Its important to have good relations with neighbours.

 

[Yzd Khalifa]

Why is that?
Its important to have good relations with neighbours.

We just can't. The Iraqi Gov't is twice hostile to us as Iran :/

 

[ResurgentIran]

We just can't. The Iraqi Gov't is twice hostile to us as Iran :/

Its always easier to present oneself as being innocent victim and on receiving end of hostility and not accept any responsibility, but how about you examine your own intransigence? Just look at your own words: "no agreements, period".
Absolute statements like that do not exactly ring well, and people are more inclined to believe that core of dispute lies elsewhere than in the government of Iraq.
This is also consistent with Maliki's statement about its troubled relations with Saudi Arabia:

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has criticized neighboring Saudi Arabia, accusing the Sunni Muslim kingdom of being unfriendly toward Iraq's Shi'a-led government.

Maliki, a Shi'a Muslim, made the comments in a November 7 interview with Alhurra-Iraq TV in Baghdad.

“We don’t’ have any problems [with the governments of neighboring countries] anymore except for Saudi Arabia," he said. "Saudi Arabia has chosen not to be a friend of Iraq. In contrast, Iraq wants friendly relations with Saudi Arabia.

"We don’t have disputes [with others].We don’t need money. We don’t have border problems or territorial disputes. We are not involved in our neighbors’ internal disputes. We don’t have any problems with anyone except Saudi Arabia. And whenever we try to solve our problems with them, we hear [negative] statements.

"Recently, the Saudi Prince who visited Washington before us [last week] made a statement that also made the Americans angry. He said that [Saudi Arabia] will not change its [policies toward Iraq] as long as Shi'a are ruling Iraq."

Maliki had announced after visiting Washington last week that he was planning a visit to Saudi Arabia in the near future in an attempt to improve ties.

Maliki Accuses Saudi Arabia of Being Unfriendly Neighbor

 

[Doritos11]

9 november news : http://english.alarabiya.net/en/New...editating-between-Iraq-and-Saudi-Arabia-.html

 

[BLACKEAGLE]

We just can't. The Iraqi Gov't is twice hostile to us as Iran :/

Why is that?

 

[Yzd Khalifa]

Its always easier to present oneself as being innocent victim and on receiving end of hostility and not accept any responsibility

My semantic never indicated such thing, what I'm insinuating was the fact that we can't work anything out with Iraqis under the current government for many reasons.

I don't think that Saudi has ever been a victim to the current Iraqi regime. But, as a matter of fact, they tried to inflict damage on our national security, but thankfully, everything had been dealt with decisively.


It is just that a large portion of the Iraqi Gov't and their religious establishment dislike us to death, nothing more and nothing less.

http://english.alarabiya.net/en/New...editating-between-Iraq-and-Saudi-Arabia-.html

It is a good thing that Al-Malki openly admitted that he sought to meditate his relations with Saudi via the US, if this points something then I guess it should be the frustration of Al-Maliki's end to the Saudis'

Its always easier to present oneself as being innocent victim and on receiving end of hostility and not accept any responsibility, but how about you examine your own intransigence? Just look at your own words: "no agreements, period".
Absolute statements like that do not exactly ring well, and people are more inclined to believe that core of dispute lies elsewhere than in the government of Iraq.
This is also consistent with Maliki's statement about its troubled relations with Saudi Arabia:



Maliki Accuses Saudi Arabia of Being Unfriendly Neighbor

 

Why is that?

I think you already know the answer to that question  

9 november news : http://english.alarabiya.net/en/New...editating-between-Iraq-and-Saudi-Arabia-.html

Good thing he openly confessed that he happens to have a problem with us, not the other way around, as many prefer to see it.

 

[Doritos11]

Good thing he openly confessed that he happens to have a problem with us, not the other way around, as many prefer to see it.

See the video : Maliki Accuses Saudi Arabia of Being Unfriendly Neighbor"]Maliki Accuses Saudi Arabia of Being Unfriendly Neighbor

He is open with relations to all neighbors, he has a problem with Saudi Arabia because they reject relations he said.

Also doubt Iraq tried to do something in Saudi, name me an Iraqi terrorist in Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia’s trash comes here by the thousands.

 

[Doritos11]

It is just that a large portion of the Iraqi Gov't and their religious establishment dislike us to death, nothing more and nothing less.

Like the Saudi gov hate Shia and Iran to death ?
That would make it a 2 way "dislike to death".

 

[Yzd Khalifa]

See the video : Maliki Accuses Saudi Arabia of Being Unfriendly Neighbor"]Maliki Accuses Saudi Arabia of Being Unfriendly Neighbor

He is open with relations to all neighbors, he has a problem with Saudi Arabia because they reject relations he said.

Also doubt Iraq tried to do something in Saudi, name me an Iraqi terrorist in Saudi Arabia, Saudi Arabia’s trash comes here by the thousands.

Saudi trash ... I like seeing you going mad

 

[Doritos11]

Saudi trash ... I like seeing you going mad

trash is the best to describe these suicide bombers, that goes for all nationalities of their kind not just Saudi.

 

[Yzd Khalifa]

Like the Saudi gov hate Shia and Iran to death ?
That would make it a 2 way "dislike to death".

Not as much as Iraq Shia's barbarism

 
You just said " Saudi " trash bro Don't try to make it less aggressive ..

trash is the best to describe these suicide bombers, that goes for all nationalities of their kind not just Saudi.

They killed as many Saudis as anyone else, give it a rest.

 

[Doritos11]

Not as much as Iraq Shia's barbarism

 
You just said " Saudi " trash bro Don't try to make it less aggressive ..

He does not represent the gov or people, his group is small, insignificant despite the large population.
But you could say he is the Shia version of Arour which Saudi Arabia hosts, so is the other side innocent ? nah.