Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Thursday that he and Nechirvan Barzani, the prime minister of Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), have a shared opinion on increased energy cooperation between Turkey, Iraq and the KRG Today`s Zaman reported.
His statements followed intensified diplomatic efforts between Turkey and Iraq and increasing high-level visits between the two countries.
Davutoglu's Thursday schedule was very busy; he held meetings with Barzani, former Syrian Prime Minister Riyad Hijab and Belarus Foreign Minister Vladimir Makei. After his bilateral meetings, Davutoglu hold a joint press conference with his Belarusian counterpart, Makei.
Responding to questions raised by reporters, Davutoglu said Turkey and Iraq are eager to increase momentum and take all the necessary steps for better relations.
"The doors between Turkey and Iraq being open also has importance in real terms with regard to cooperation. Our being in close contact with the KRG is a necessity," he said and stressed that Ankara welcomes all parts of Iraq without favoring any segment of the country and that the energy cooperation between Ankara, Baghdad and Arbil should gain in strength and increase in volume.
He stated that the conditions of the Habur border gate affect relations between Turkey and Iraq and that in his meeting with Barzani he discussed the need to develop the facilities at the border gate to expand trade capacity and meet the increasing demand for goods.
Davutoglu said he also spoke with Barzani about the latest developments in Iraq, joint projects between Ankara, Arbil and Baghdad and developments in the Syrian crisis. "We have been affected by all the negative developments in Syria. There was a need for a joint assessment and we did that," he said.
The foreign minister also stated that he will visit Iraq within two weeks and will meet a number of Iraqi officials, including Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki.
Having independent energy relations with the KRG in northern Iraq, Turkey had placed relations with the central Iraqi government on the backburner. Economic relations with Arbil, particularly dealings on oil, and bypassing Baghdad in this trade angered Baghdad, which stressed that Turkey should ask the Iraqi government before taking any action in the region. However, increasing visits between Ankara, Arbil and Baghdad signal a new phase in Turkey-Iraq ties.
Davutoglu also met with former Syrian Prime Minister Hijab on Thursday. Davutoglu said that the two mainly discussed the situation in Syria and the Geneva II conference.
Reports of al-Qaeda members entering Syria from Turkey
In remarks regarding recent reports of Turkish safe houses for al-Qaeda members, Davutoglu said some baseless articles have been purposely released about Turkey to get international media attention.
He said there is an assertion that Turkey prepares the ground for extremist groups; however, he emphasized that Turkey supports the Syrian people fighting for their rightful demands under increasing pressure from the Syrian regime.
"We stand by the Syrian National Coalition, its moderate factions and our Syrian brothers who want to contribute to the future of Syria, regardless of which sect they are from. We supported and we are supporting [these groups and people]. However, we never supported non-Syrian and extremist groups that overshadow Syrian's rightful struggle and our support for these groups is out of the question. Our stance against these groups that want to benefit from the power vacuum in the Syrian regime is loud and clear," he said.