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Iraq Cancels Turkish Defense Minister Visit after Attack

A member of the PKK carries an automatic rifle on a road in the Qandil Mountains, the PKK headquarters in northern Iraq, on June 22, 2018. (Getty Images)
A member of the PKK carries an automatic rifle on a road in the Qandil Mountains, the PKK headquarters in northern Iraq, on June 22, 2018. (Getty Images)
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Iraq Cancels Turkish Defense Minister Visit after Attack

A member of the PKK carries an automatic rifle on a road in the Qandil Mountains, the PKK headquarters in northern Iraq, on June 22, 2018. (Getty Images)
A member of the PKK carries an automatic rifle on a road in the Qandil Mountains, the PKK headquarters in northern Iraq, on June 22, 2018. (Getty Images)

Iraq cancelled on Tuesday the Turkish defense minister’s visit to the country which was scheduled for Thursday, Iraq’s foreign ministry said in a statement.

The ministry also summoned the Turkish ambassador to hand him “a strong protest note and inform him of Iraq’s confirmed rejection of his country’s attacks and violations”, the statement added.

A Turkish drone strike on Tuesday in the Sidakan area in northeastern Iraq, near the Turkish and Iranian borders, killed two members of Iraq’s border guard and the driver of the vehicle they were in, the Iraqi military said.

It is the first time members of the regular Iraqi forces have been killed since Turkey launched a cross-border ground and air operation in mid-June against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels in the mountainous terrain of northern Iraq.

The Iraqi presidency slammed the attack as a “dangerous” violation of the country’s sovereignty and international laws.

It demanded that Ankara cease military operations that are harming relations with its neighbors.

Iraq has already summoned the Turkish envoy in Baghdad twice in protest at Ankara's operations on its soil.

At least five civilians have been killed since the start of the Turkish campaign in June.

Ankara has announced the death of two of its soldiers, and the PKK and its allies have reported the deaths of 10 fighters and supporters.

The PKK, which is blacklisted as a terrorist group by Ankara and its Western allies, has waged an insurgency against the Turkish state since 1984.

It has long used the rugged terrain of northern Iraq as a rear base to wage attacks on Turkey, which in turn had set up military positions inside Iraqi territory to fight them.

The Kurdish authorities, dominated by the Democratic Party of Kurdistan (KDP) see the PKK as rivals but have never been able to uproot them from their northern Iraqi bases.

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Baku Seeking to Diffuse Tensions between Israel, Türkiye in Syria

Turkish troops return after a joint US-Türkiye patrol in northern Syria, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Akcakale, Türkiye, September 8, 2019. (Reuters)
Turkish troops return after a joint US-Türkiye patrol in northern Syria, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Akcakale, Türkiye, September 8, 2019. (Reuters)
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Baku Seeking to Diffuse Tensions between Israel, Türkiye in Syria

Turkish troops return after a joint US-Türkiye patrol in northern Syria, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Akcakale, Türkiye, September 8, 2019. (Reuters)
Turkish troops return after a joint US-Türkiye patrol in northern Syria, as it is pictured from near the Turkish town of Akcakale, Türkiye, September 8, 2019. (Reuters)

With growing influence after its recapture of Nagorno-Karabakh from Armenian separatists in 2023, Azerbaijan is using its close ties with Israel and Türkiye to defuse tensions between the regional foes in Syria.

Azerbaijan’s top foreign policy adviser Hikmet Hajiyev told AFP that Baku has hosted more than three rounds of talks between Türkiye and Israel, who are both operating in Syria to reduce what they see as security threats.

“Azerbaijan is making diplomatic efforts for an agreement,” Hajiyev told Turkish journalists in Baku on a visit organized by the Istanbul-based Global Journalism Council. “Both Türkiye and Israel trust us.”

The overthrow of Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad sparked security concerns in Israel.

It has since staged hundreds of strikes deep inside Syria, the latest on Friday, to allegedly stop advanced weapons falling into the hands of Syria’s extremists and to protect the Druze minority.

Israel has accused Ankara of seeking to turn Syria into a Turkish protectorate, raising fears of a confrontation.

In Azerbaijan, President Ilham Aliyev is considered a close ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He has consistently aligned himself with Ankara’s positions on key international matters, including the Syrian issue.

Azerbaijan also enjoys good relations with Israel, which is very reliant on Azerbaijani oil, and is a major arms supplier to Baku.

And now Baku, which has established contacts with Syria’s new rulers, is pushing quiet diplomacy by facilitating technical talks between Türkiye and Israel.

“We are successful if the two parties agree on a common model that respects each other’s concerns,” Farid Shafiyev, chairman of the Baku-based Center for Analysis of International Relations, told AFP.

“Syria, and especially its northern territories, is the Turkish security concern,” he said.

Türkiye wants to control northern Syria but also to “have a stronger presence” around the Palmyra and T4 airbases to ensure security around Damascus, he added.

In facilitating Türkiye-Israel dialogue on Syria, Azerbaijan is playing a “strategic role,” said Zaur Mammadov, chairman of Baku Political Scientists Club.

“(It) reflects Azerbaijan’s growing influence as a mediator... among regional actors,” he said.

Azerbaijan fought two wars with arch-foe Armenia for control of the disputed Karabakh region -- one in the 1990s and another in 2020 -- before it managed to seize the entire area in a 24-hour offensive in September 2023.