ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Iraq’s new prime minister, Ali al-Zaidi, arrived in Turkey on Tuesday for talks that are expected to include the construction of a pipeline to Turkey aimed at reducing the exposure of Iraq’s oil exports to tensions in the Gulf region. It is al-Zaidi’s third visit abroad since taking office.
Zaidi’s meetings with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other officials will also focus on security, trade, energy, transportation and water management, Turkish officials said.
A statement from the Iraqi prime minister’s office said the sides will discuss “joint infrastructure projects in a way that serves the interests of the two neighboring countries.”
Al-Zaidi, who emerged as a consensus candidate in Iraq after months of deadlock over the premiership following last year’s parliamentary elections, is visiting Ankara on the heel of trips to Washington and Tehran.
Following al-Zaidi’s talks with U.S. President Donald Trump earlier this month, U.S. companies signed roughly $60 billion in agreements and partnerships with the Iraqi government, including deals intended to create alternative routes for shipping oil out of the Persian Gulf.
One project under consideration is a pipeline that would connect southern Iraq’s Basra to western Iraq’s Haditha and from there to the Ceyhan port in Turkey and the port of Baniyas on Syria’s coast.
The visit comes as Turkey is engaged in talks to end a decades-long conflict with the militant Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, whose fighters are largely based in northern Iraq. Last year, the PKK announced it was laying down arms and disbanding as part of the efforts and later held a symbolic ceremony in northern Iraq, where dozens of fighters burned their weapons in a cauldron.
Turkey is now scheduled to enact legislation to help advance the peace effort, which is expected to include a limited amnesty that could allow some militants’ return to Turkey.
The PKK has waged an armed insurgency since 1984, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives since then. It’s designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.
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