Hakan Fidan's messages regarding the PKK are on the agenda in Iraq

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan's remarks on a television channel, in which he drew attention to the presence of the PKK terrorist organization in Iraq, drew a reaction from the Baghdad administration. In particular, Fidan's statements that the PKK must be removed from Iraqi territory and that "the Iraqi state will have to show a will on this matter" have caused diplomatic repercussions between the two countries.

Iraqi media reported that Turkey's Ambassador to Baghdad, Anıl Bora İnan, was summoned to the Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs following these remarks. Claims that Ankara's statements were evaluated as interference in Iraq's internal affairs have become a subject of debate in the country.

Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Öncü Keçeli made important assessments regarding the issue in a post on his social media account. In Keçeli's statement, it was noted, "We reject the distortion of our Minister's remarks by certain circles, taking them out of context with the claim that there is interference in Iraq's internal affairs."

Spokesperson Keçeli stated that the remarks made by Minister Fidan in his television interview on February 9, 2026, were misrepresented by some Iraqi media outlets, while emphasizing that the goal is to further develop cooperation between Turkey and Iraq in the fields of security and counter-terrorism in the near future.

The same statement said, "The remarks made by our Minister in the interview in question are aimed at drawing attention to the threat that the PKK terrorist organization, which has nested in parts of Iraqi territory, primarily in Sinjar, Makhmour, and Qandil, also poses to Iraq's territorial integrity and security, based on this understanding of cooperation."

Öncü Keçeli continued his statement as follows:

"In this context, our Minister underlined our determination to completely clear the terrorist organization from the Iraqi field, just as in Syria, and the necessity of continuing to increase our existing cooperation with the Iraqi administration in this area. As such, we reject the distortion of our Minister's remarks by certain circles, taking them out of context with the claim that there is interference in Iraq's internal affairs. On this occasion, we reiterate our support as Turkey for the territorial integrity and sovereignty of our neighbor Iraq."

News Source: 12punto