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Turkey's Davutoglu in Iraq to Push Fresh Start
[An Nahar] Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu landed in Storied Baghdad...located along the Tigris River, founded in the 8th century, home of the Abbasid Caliphate... on Sunday for a slew of meetings with top Iraqi officials as the two neighbors seek a "fresh start" to chilled ties. Relations between Ankara and Storied Baghdad, which had been on the upswing as recently as 2011, fell off as the two countries clashed over the war in Syria, Turkey's ties with Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, and sharp words between their prime ministers. But the two sides have made moves in recent weeks towards a gradual rapprochement, with Turkish officials pegging Davutoglu's visit as focused on promoting a "fresh start", as well as concentrating on the violence in their common neighbor Syria. The two-day visit, which follows a similar trip by Davutoglu's counterpart Hoshyar Zebari last month, includes talks with Prime Minister  Nouri al-Maliki... Prime Minister of Iraq and the secretary-general of the Islamic Dawa Party.... and Zebari, as well as several other officials and politicians in Storied Baghdad and the Shiite holy cities of Najaf and Karbala. "They are going to discuss a fresh start to relations," a Turkish official told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... "They will mostly discuss bilateral issues, what is happening in the region, and Syria." Ties between Iraq and Turkey had been rapidly improving in the run-up to the Syrian conflict, with multiple visits to Storied Baghdad by both Davutoglu and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Posted by: Fred 2013-11-11 |
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