Turkey Offers Technical Assistance to Iraq to Enhance Border Security

A Turkish defense ministry official stated today, Thursday, that "Ankara is in talks with Iraq regarding providing technical assistance to enhance Iraqi border security to prevent movements of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in the region." The Turkish official told reporters: "We have informed our counterparts that Turkey is ready to offer assistance to Iraq regarding border security systems." He added that an Iraqi delegation had visited Turkey earlier to examine the border security systems that Turkey offered to provide, noting that discussions regarding security cooperation are still ongoing. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan visited Baghdad and Erbil this week as Ankara seeks to intensify its cross-border operations against PKK fighters based in the predominantly Kurdish mountainous region of northern Iraq. During the visit, the two countries signed a strategic framework agreement to monitor security, trade, and energy, as well as a defense cooperation agreement.