Turkey's Foreign Policy Activism in the Middle East – Strategic Partnership with Iraq

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is on a roll, emphasizing Turkey's (Trkiye) point of view and increasing his initiative in regional affairs, at a crucial time for the region as the Gaza crisis begins to escalate into conflict wider. Turkey is becoming increasingly visible, its ambitious agenda in regional affairs and its realignment towards the Middle East continuing for some time. Under Erdogan, the country pursues a foreign policy of zero problems with its neighbors, and it is in this spirit that Erdogan arrived in Iraq on April 22, for his first official visit in thirteen years.

Turkey and Iraq may be neighbors, but they haven't always been friends, which could now change. Erdogan's much-anticipated visit, postponed from last year, certainly builds on recent progress in bilateral relations. His trip to Baghdad and Erbil in northern Iraq could not come at a more volatile time, as Israel and Iran move back from the brink of war.

A strategic framework agreement was signed covering a wide range of issues from security to economic cooperation. It is the culmination of productive high-level meetings between the two sides. Furthermore, Erdogan's first trip to Iraq since 2011 also marks the signing of a key preliminary agreement between Turkey, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, which could transform the region's connectivity.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohamed Shia al-Sudani and President Recep Erdogan spoke at a joint news conference in Baghdad. It was announced that a quadrilateral memorandum of understanding between Iraq, Turkey, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates was signed to establish the necessary frameworks for the implementation of the strategic development road project. According to the memorandum, the four signatory countries committed to establishing the necessary frameworks for the implementation of the project and to begin work on a land route between Europe and the Gulf cooperation countries. A $17 billion road and rail project, the Development Route which stretches 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) across Iraq, aims to connect the northern border with Turkey to the Gulf in the south by 2030 . Work on the development road will be carried out in three phases, with deadlines set for 2028, 2033 and 2050. The development road also includes a proposed rail network linking the port of Grand Faw in southern Iraq, at the Turkish port of Mersin, which was announced in April. 2023.

Along with the MoU on the Development Road Project, Iraq and Turkey signed a total of 26 MoUs focused on collaboration in key areas such as water and sanitation security. energy, transport and infrastructure, free trade and investment, scientific and medical research, defense and military training, security cooperation. , youth and sports, agriculture, education, tourism and culture, including archives and religious affairs.

Terrorism is a priority issue for both nations. Iraq used to criticize Turkey's military operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a violent Kurdish terrorist organization based in the Kurdish-majority mountainous regions of southeastern Turkey and northern Turkey. Iraq. Since the end of the 1970s, the PKK has demanded Kurdish autonomy in Türkiye. After intensive Turkish diplomacy, Iraq officially recognized the PKK as a “terrorist” organization last March.

In their latest agreement, Turkey and Iraq signed a strategic security pact against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the Gülen Movement. Further emphasizing this during the press conference, Prime Minister Soudani said: “We will not let anyone launch attacks against neighboring countries from our territories, and we will not let anyone violate our sovereignty.”

It can be emphasized that the security agreement was a prerequisite for any strengthening of bilateral relations between Baghdad and Ankara. Both are aware that any development in terms of connectivity must ensure that roads are secure against violent Kurdish extremism. Furthermore, it is in Baghdad's interest to resume Iraqi oil exports, via the Iraq-Turkey pipeline, which has been closed for more than a year due to legal disputes and technical problems. About 450,000 barrels of crude per day once passed through northern Iraq's oil export route through Turkey, and its closure resulted in a loss of about $11 billion to $12 billion for Iraq. Moreover, this oil export was previously managed independently by the autonomous Kurdistan Region through the Turkish port of Ceyhan, without approval or oversight from the central administration in Baghdad. Iraq wants to resume oil exports from the north to Turkey by bypassing the Kurdistan region pipeline.

During his visit to Iraq, Erdogan also met with Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani in Erbil. Improving relations between Turkey and Iraq depends on Baghdad-Erbil relations. The regional government of Iraqi Kurdistan is allied with Turkey and has been training the Peshmerga since the 1990s.

Both Erdogan and Soudani called for an end to Israel's indiscriminate war against Gaza and also called for de-escalation in the Middle East region. A few days before his trip to Iraq, as part of an important diplomatic move, Erdogan met with Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Istanbul. The meeting reportedly lasted more than two and a half hours, reflecting the importance of the discussions. During the meeting, Haniyeh was accompanied by key members of Hamas, who were received at the historic Dolmabahce Palace, which symbolizes the importance of the meeting. Details of the discussions remain confidential, but the meeting highlights Turkey's continued efforts to play a role in regional diplomacy.

As the Gaza war unfolded, Erdogan accused Western countries of double standards for supposedly denouncing Iran over its drone attacks on Israel, but without condemning Israel for targeting the Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital, Damascus, earlier.

Taken together, these developments, such as the realignment of its neighborhood, its rejection of the Western position on Gaza and the populism of the Erdogan government, mark a complex transformation in Turkish foreign policy.

Given the growing divergence between Ankara and Washington, Turkey is less dependent on the Western community and more comfortable developing closer economic ties with its neighbors. Turkey's main security concern is the threat of the PKK, which it says can best be addressed by working in coordination with its Arab neighbors rather than through the NATO alliance or with Tel Aviv.

Under Erdogan's leadership, Turkey feels a clear incentive to pursue its strategic priorities through cooperation at the regional level and by adjusting its security needs outside of the U.S.-led political agenda .