Turkish and PUK officials visit Baghdad amidst tensions after Sulaymaniyah drone attack

Turkish and PUK officials visit Baghdad amidst tensions after Sulaymaniyah drone attack
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Amidst tensions following a suspected Turkish drone attack on Sulaymaniyah, Turkish Deputy Undersecretary of MIT, Mutlu Tuka, and Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Kubat Talabani made simultaneous visits to Baghdad

Amidst escalating tensions following the suspected Turkish drone attack on the Sulaymaniyah International Airport in Northern Iraq, both the Turkish Deputy Undersecretary of MIT (National Intelligence Organization), Mutlu Tuka, and the Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Kubat Talabani, made simultaneous visits to the Iraqi capital of Baghdad.

While the purpose of their visits was not confirmed to include a meeting between the two officials, discussions were held separately with Iraqi counterparts to address security concerns and regional developments.

According to the office of Iraq's National Security Advisor, Qasim al-Araji, Tuka and his accompanying security delegation had a meeting in the capital city of Baghdad. The office said that the discussions focused on reviewing the security situation in the region, addressing security matters between the two countries, developing a roadmap for resolving security issues and controlling borders between the two countries.

On Sunday, al-Araji visited the Sulaymaniyah Airport in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to inspect the site of the drone attack and held a series of meetings with officials from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

In addition to the Turkish delegation, Kubat Talabani, the Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) from the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), also visited Baghdad and met with Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammed Shia al-Sudani.

A statement from al-Sudani's office said that the discussions with Talabani covered general developments, national-level issues, and the government's reform measures.

The simultaneous visits of Talabani and Tuka to Baghdad attracted attention in the country, but there were no reports in the Iraqi media about whether the two guests met with each other during their visits.

Mazloum Abdi, the Commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), had claimed on April 8 that they were subjected to a drone attack by Turkey after completing their meetings at the Sulaymaniyah Airport.

Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, in a television program he participated in today, stated that "the PKK has taken full control of the KDP, and the Talabanis have allocated helicopters purchased from France to the SDF."