ANKARA, Mar 22 (NNN-XINHUA) – Türkiye and Iraq will build a land and railroad transportation corridor, stretching from the Iraqi province of Basra to the Turkish border, Türkiye’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, said yesterday.
“We have tasked our minister friends, who will carry out the works for materialising the Development Road Project, extending from Basra to Türkiye,” Erdogan said, at a joint press conference with visiting Iraqi Prime Minister, Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani.
“I believe that we will transform the Development Road Project into the new Silk Road of our region,” the Turkish president said.
Moreover, Türkiye will increase the amount of water released from the Tigris River, to help Iraq tackle its water shortage, he said.
Baghdad has been urging Ankara to secure Iraqi water share from the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which originate from Türkiye, as Iraq often suffers from drought.
In their talks, the two leaders reaffirmed their commitment to fighting against all forms of terrorism, Erdogan revealed.
“Our expectation from our Iraqi brothers is that, they shall designate the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) as a terrorist organisation and clear their lands of this bloodshedder terrorist organisation,” Erdogan said.
Al-Sudani, for his part, underlined that his government will not allow Iraqi lands to become a “point to launch attacks” against its neighbour.
“Security of Türkiye and security of Iraq are inseparable,” he said.
The PKK, listed as a terrorist organisation by Türkiye, the United States and the EU, has been rebelling against the Turkish government for more than three decades. It has been using Iraq’s Qandil Mountains as its main base for years.– NNN-XINHUA
