Turkish foreign minister says Iraq also treats PKK as the terrorist group it is

ANKARA / ISTANBUL

Iraq is also treating the PKK as a terrorist group, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Sunday, stressing that the PKK is officially outlawed in Iraq.

"Whether it’s (classified as) banned or terrorist, this makes no difference to the treatment it gets. It’s enough for it to be an illegal organization. What matters is the attitude taken," Fidan said after the fifth meeting of the Türkiye-Iraq High-Level Security Mechanism.

In addition to Fidan, Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler and intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin also attended the meeting, while the Iraqi officials included Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and his delegation, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on X.

Stressing that the meeting, held on the closing day of the Antalya Diplomacy Forum (ADF) 2025 in the Turkish resort city, was productive and that a joint statement was prepared, Fidan said both sides presented the work done so far on security with great sincerity and devotion.

Ankara and Baghdad are closely following developments in the region, he said, adding that they are reviewing current security issues, notably the fight against terrorism, and possible security-related developments together.

Noting that Iraq is also waiting for the result of jailed PKK ringleader Abdullah Ocalan's call for the dissolution of all groups under the PKK umbrella, he said everyone hopes the PKK makes the decision to dissolve itself as soon as possible.

Everyone also hopes the agreement the terrorist YPG/PKK reached with the Syrian government, ending its existence as a group, is implemented as soon as possible and helps establish stability in Syria, Fidan underlined.

Both Iraq and Türkiye expressed their expectations on this at the meeting and "we will state it in our joint statement,” he added.

Fidan said that Türkiye voiced its concerns about Sinjar, Iraq at the meeting, adding that the Iraqi side also conveyed its concerns and that developments on these would be seen soon.

Jailed PKK ringleader Abdullah Ocalan in February called for the dissolution of the PKK and all groups under it, urging an end to its terror campaign spanning over 40 years.

In its 40-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK – listed as a terror organization by Türkiye, the US, and the EU – has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants. The YPG/PYD is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.

PKK terrorists often hide out in northern Iraq to plot cross-border attacks in Türkiye, while the YPG/PYD has tried to establish a terror corridor in northern Syria along Türkiye’s borders.