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Iraq’s PM to Visit Turkey Next Week

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. AFP file photo
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. AFP file photo
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Iraq’s PM to Visit Turkey Next Week

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. AFP file photo
Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi. AFP file photo

Prime Minister Mustafa Kadhimi will travel to Turkey next week to discuss security, water and economic issues, Iraqi government sources said Friday.

Iraqi ambassador to Ankara Hassan Al-Janabi said the visit will take place on December 17, and it involves a meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“Kadhimi’s trip will be preceded by Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein’s working visit to Iraq, to set the stage for agreements on security and other political and economic issues,” the diplomat said.

Water, the incursion of Turkish forces and their presence inside Iraqi lands, and the efforts of the two countries to confront the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is active inside Iraqi territories, will top the agenda of the talks.

Ankara maintains a military force in the Bashiqa area, in Nineveh Governorate, in addition to deploying troops in the border region of Iraqi Kurdistan, under the pretext of fighting the PKK.

Repeated Turkish airstrikes in Iraqi territories have caused political tension between the two countries in the past months and years.

The Iraqi Ministry of Water Resources proposed on Friday to hold talks with Turkey early next year to determine Iraq's share of the Tigris and Euphrates waters.

"It is likely that the talks will be held early next year to determine the fixed share of water,” a ministry spokesman, Aoun Diab, told the Iraqi News Agency.

Iraq has complained for years that the Turkish and Iranian authorities are obstructing Iraq's water supply.

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Will Egypt Request Extradition of Ahmad Mansour?

Egyptian Ahmad al-Mansour (X)
Egyptian Ahmad al-Mansour (X)
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Will Egypt Request Extradition of Ahmad Mansour?

Egyptian Ahmad al-Mansour (X)
Egyptian Ahmad al-Mansour (X)

Judicial authorities in Egypt have issued an arrest and extradition warrant for Ahmad al-Mansour, who allegedly made threats against Egypt from Syria. He was reportedly apprehended by security forces in Damascus, an informed Egyptian source told Asharq Al-Awsat on Wednesday.
A source at the Syrian interior ministry told Reuters that Syria's new authorities have detained al-Mansour over threats he made to the government in Cairo.
The source said that al-Mansour has posted several videos threatening Egyptian authorities, and calling for protests.
Lately, al-Mansour had caused a huge controversy after appearing in a taped video of himself surrounded by masked fighters in a room decorated with a flag associated with the Egyptian monarchy before the 25 January revolution.
Al-Mansour's calls were rejected, even by Egyptian opponents, who said his speech harms the peacefulness of the January 25 revolution in 2011.
Research conducted by Asharq Al-Awsat found no judicial rulings recorded against al-Mansour, whether on terrorist or criminal charges.
The informed Egyptian source said the authorities issued an arrest warrant for al-Mansour on charges of joining armed terrorist groups, incitement to overthrow the regime by force of arms, and threatening Egyptian national security.
“Authorities are also preparing a file to request his extradition from Syria,” the source said.
Egypt's request to return al-Mansour does not require judicial rulings, the source added.
It is enough for Egyptian authorities to ask for his extradition on the grounds of questioning him, especially on criminal charges, the source said.
MP Mustafa Bakri told Asharq Al-Awsat that the Syrian authorities will not hand over Ahmad al-Mansour to Egypt. “They arrested al-Mansour only to prevent him from abusing authorities in Egypt and to avoid any clash with Cairo,” he said.
For his part, Syrian activist and journalist Abdul-Karim Omar, who is close to the new administration, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the current Syrian authorities are careful not to turn the new Syria into a threat to any country. “They want to preserve Syria’s relationship with Egypt,” he said.
Omar said he does not know whether the administration in Syria plans to hand al-Mansour over to Egypt, but assured that the new administration is keen to get have closet ties with Cairo.