It is likely that Erdogan will visit Baghdad and his army is planning a buffer zone inside Iraq with

[size=52]It is likely that Erdogan will visit Baghdad and his army is planning a buffer zone inside Iraq with a depth of 40 km[/size]

[size=45]Baghdad/ Tamim Al-Hassan[/size]
[size=45]Turkish President Tayyip Recep Erdogan is expected to visit Baghdad soon, after the failure of the previous visit that was supposed to take place last year. Meanwhile, the Turkish Ministry of Defense promised a “different summer” this time in Iraq, and a “permanent solution” to the PKK problem on the border.[/size]
[size=45]According to the Ministry of Defense, Ankara intends to implement measures next summer and establish a buffer zone in northern Iraq with a depth that may extend to 40 km.[/size]
[size=45]So far, the Iraqi government has not responded to these statements, while Baghdad has complained to the Security Council against the Turkish strikes.[/size]
[size=45]Over the past years, the Turkish army has not ceased bombing and pursuing the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is deployed on the Iraqi border and in the Sinjar region.[/size]
[size=45]According to estimates by non-governmental organizations, the Turkish attacks claimed the lives of at least 129 civilians in northern Iraq and injured 180 others, from 2015 until July 2022.[/size]
[size=45]Will Erdogan come?[/size]
[size=45]Ankara is now, according to the Turkish Ministry of Defense, planning to resolve the conflict with the PKK in Iraq in the coming months, and in the wake of this talk comes news of the possibility of Erdogan visiting Baghdad.[/size]
[size=45]There are many outstanding files between Iraq and Turkey, in addition to borders and security, there are water and oil files, which will take up the bulk of Erdogan’s visit, if it happens.[/size]
[size=45]In June last year, an Iraqi Foreign Ministry official announced the imminent visit of the Turkish President, then it was postponed until last September.[/size]
[size=45]Informed sources said at the time that “a green light has not yet been issued from Tehran for Erdogan’s visit,” due to Iran’s involvement, as was leaked, in the Labor Party file.[/size]
[size=45]These sources indicated that parties within the coordination framework had obstructed the supposed visit of the Turkish President to Iraq last year.[/size]
[size=45]Erdogan, who won the presidential elections last year with more than 52% of the total votes, visited Baghdad twice, in 2008 and 2011.[/size]
[size=45]Politicians, such as former MP Mithal Al-Alusi, pointed out that Baghdad should know that this time it is dealing with “a new version of Erdogan.”[/size]
[size=45]Al-Alusi told Al-Mada, “The Turkish president now feels his internal and external strength after winning the elections, and he has become more stable.”[/size]
[size=45]The relationship between Iran and the factions is intertwined with the Workers’ Party, known as the PKK, as a number of the party’s members belong to the PMF and receive salaries and weapons from the group.[/size]
[size=45]According to the leaks, Tehran is using the PKK file to put pressure on Baghdad and America, especially in the issue of the city of Sinjar, which has been under the party’s control for 7 years.[/size]
[size=45]Military-wise, Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Guler said in statements to a number of Turkish journalists last Monday: “In line with the framework drawn up by our president (Erdogan), we will complete the circle that will secure our borders with Iraq this summer, and eliminate terrorism so that it does not become a problem troubling our country.”[/size]
[size=45]Turkey deploys about 7,000 soldiers and officers who penetrate up to 100 km deep into Iraqi territory and have 11 military bases and 19 camps in Iraq.[/size]
[size=45]Guler confirmed that his country intends to create a security belt inside Iraq, and speaking about the Workers’ Party, he said: “If we keep them at least 30 to 40 kilometers from our borders, our nation and our borders will be safe.”[/size]
[size=45]He added: “Our struggle has been continuing according to a plan that has been studied for nearly 6 years, and now Turkey needs to move to another stage.”[/size]
[size=45]Turkey launched more than 4,000 attacks on Iraq during six years, from August 2015 until January 2021, according to a report by the “International Civil Society Coalition” of the United Nations.[/size]
[size=45]Baghdad has not yet commented on these statements, but last February, the Iraqi government submitted a complaint to the UN Security Council against Turkey, Iran, and America for repeatedly targeting the country’s security and sovereignty.[/size]
[size=45]In the parliament session held in 2022 on “Turkish attacks,” Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein said that “since 2018, Iraq has recorded more than 22,700 Turkish violations against Iraq, and that it submitted 296 protest notes against Turkey.”[/size]
[size=45]The Turkish presence in Iraq does not match the enthusiasm shown by parties in the “framework” in objecting to the American forces.[/size]
[size=45]The number of Turkish forces permanently present in Iraq (more than 7,000 fighters) is twice the number of American forces in Iraq, which amounts to 2,500 individuals.[/size]
[size=45]Sinjar crossing![/size]
[size=45]Ghazi Faisal, a former diplomat, told Al-Mada, “Today, Iran and a number of armed militias linked to the Revolutionary Guard support the Workers’ Party in Sinjar.”[/size]
[size=45]Sinjar is an important city because it is located within the strategic road linking Iran to Syria and Lebanon, through which weapons and fighters are transported. According to the former diplomat.[/size]
[size=45]He added: “There is a conflict between Ankara and Tehran regarding the issue of control over Sinjar... and the bases that Turkey has established since 2014 in Iraq are working by land and air to target Mount Qandil, one of the most prominent strongholds of the Workers’ Party in Iraq.”[/size]
[size=45]Faisal, who runs the Iraqi Center for Strategic Studies, confirmed that the Turkish expansion into Iraq “was not with Baghdad’s approval, and it is in order to ensure the existence of a security buffer belt along the Iraqi-Turkish border similar to the buffer zone between Turkey and northern Syria.”[/size]
[size=45]On the other hand, the director of the Iraqi Center spoke about economic relations between Baghdad and Ankara that must be taken into account in any negotiations or in Erdogan’s expected visit.[/size]
[size=45]Faisal says, “Turkey is an advanced industrial country with experience in the air force, and Iraq needs Turkish weapons and goods.”[/size]
[size=45]He also confirms that the development path between Turkey, Europe and the countries of the region “will turn Iraq into a commercial heartland, and Erdogan says that the gains of this path will not be achieved without removing the threat of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party.”[/size]
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