Turkey-Iraq relations to be improved: Deputy PM

By Ali Kemal Akan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said Friday that he is "hopeful about a new period" for recently-strained relations with Iraq.

"We aim to improve our relations both with the central Iraqi government and the Kurdish Regional Government," Kurtulmus told Iraqi TV channel Rudaw.

His remarks came before the scheduled visit of Prime Minister Binali Yildirim to Iraqi cities of Baghdad and Erbil on Jan. 7 and 8.

Yildirim's visit will lead to new steps to improve Iraq-Turkey bilateral relations, Kurtulmus said.

Stating that the political tensions in the region also had a negative impact on relations with Iraq, he said both countries had the intention to solve the existing problems.

"We hope that this visit will form new basis for a joint fight against terrorism and that such a common fight will strengthen the governments of both countries."

About Turkey's presence at a military training camp in Bashiqa -- northeast of Mosul, Kurtulmus said local sources in Iraq had asked for Turkish assistance against Daesh.

He said Turkish forces have trained numerous Iraqi and Peshmerga fighters in the region.

"Turkey's presence there is part of the fight against Daesh," he added.

Turkey has maintained a long-standing training base near Bashiqa, around 20 kilometers (12 miles) northeast of Mosul. However, it has created tension between Ankara and Baghdad, with Iraqi lawmakers calling for their removal.

In an effort to improve the relations, the leaders will talk about economy and foreign trade volume, as well as terrorist PKK and YPG presence in Iraq, and political stability in the region.

About the media claims that Turkey changed it policy over Syria, the deputy prime minister said Ankara's stance on Syria was "definitely right from the very beginning."

"We have supported the Syrian people and demanded a democratic transition period," he said, adding Turkey's power was not enough to ensure that.

He also criticized the international community for not providing enough support. "I wish the regional countries could have come together to solve the Syrian issue without any involvement from other countries."

Referring to the joint efforts by Turkey and Russia over the issue, Kurtulmus said they were trying to establish a new "peace perspective" for Syria.

He said some good steps have been taken towards a nationwide cease-fire in the country.

Pointing to the planned talks in Kazakhstan's capital Astana later this month between the regime of Bashar al-Assad and opposition groups, Kurtulmus said the negotiations would "turn a new page" to find a political solution to the six-year conflict.

However, he warned against "provokers," who he said "do not want peace."

"A new peace plan will appear," he said. "It is already clear that the regime in Syria, which caused the death of 600,000 people and destroyed the historical cities, cannot be accepted by the Syrian people in the upcoming period."

He said any transitional government should be one "which appeals to all".

Syria has been locked in a devastating civil war since early 2011, when the Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests -- which erupted as part of the Arab Spring uprisings -- with unexpected ferocity.