Turkey, Iraq hold security talks in Baghdad, Iraqi government says

Senior Turkish and Iraqi officials held high-level talks in Baghdad on Thursday to discuss security issues including potential measures against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party in Iraq, an Iraqi foreign ministry statement said after the meeting.
Ties between the neighbours have been rocky in recent years as Ankara has ramped up cross-border operations against PKK militants based in northern Iraq’s mountainous regions. Iraq has said the operations violate its sovereignty, but Ankara says it must protect itself and has warned of new incursions.
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, Defence Minister Yasar Guler and intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin met with Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein and top security officials, the statement said.
Turkey welcomed the Iraqi National Security Council’s decision to consider the PKK a “banned organization in Iraq”, the foreign ministry statement added.
The two sides also discussed preparations for a planned visit by President Tayyip Erdogan to Baghdad, which is expected “after the holy month of Ramadan”, said the statement.