Roundup: Turkey tries to deepen ties with Iraqi Kurds amid rows with Baghdad

The visit of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) leader Masoud Barzani to Turkey is seen as a move to bolster bilateral ties amid a feud between Ankara and Baghdad over recent deployment of Turkish troops near Mosul province.

"The visit is aimed to show emphasis on the importance of ties by both sides in terms of economic relations and battling with the Islamic State (IS)," Serhat Erkmen, a Middle East analyst at the 21st Century Turkey Institute, said.

He also underlined that both the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Turkey shares similar concerns about recent moves by the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), an organization that is listed as terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.

Barzani's visit came on the heels of recent tension between Ankara and Baghdad over the deployment of troops near the city of Mosul to train Iraqi paramilitary forces and Kurdish peshmerga forces in the fight against the IS.

Iraqi federal government said it was not notified in advance of the troop deployment and asked Turkey to withdraw them immediately.

Turkey said the deployment is not for a combat purpose and was simply a routine reshuffle of training troops that is done in accordance of an agreement with Iraqi government in 2014.

Mosul, the capital of Nineveh province, has been under IS control since June 2014.

Before his visit to Ankara, Barzani said reactions to the deployment of Turkish troops are exaggerated.

He also confirmed that there were agreements between Turkey and Baghdad over training of volunteers for an anticipated battle for Mosul, according to Kurdish media network Rudaw.

In a joint press briefing after he met with Turkish Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz on Thursday, Barzani said Turkey and KRG agreed on a deal in fighting the IS after concluding detailed talks.

He met other Turkish leaders including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

Speaking to the reporters on Thursday, Erdogan ruled out the possibility of withdrawal of Turkish trainers from Iraq, and reaffirmed that Turkish troops are not deployed as a combat force but to train local forces against IS.

"According to the number of peshmergas our troops provide training, the number (of trainers) may increase or decrease," he remarked.

However, Lale Kemal, the security analyst in Turkish capital, remains concerned about how Turkey has been managing such crisis with Iraq, as well as the recent downing of Russian jet in late November.

She described them as "the latest examples of how Ankara has been mishandling delicate foreign policy issues that require the utmost care."

Kemal underlined that "this should largely be blamed on its ill-conceived policies, which have taken, among other things, the form of asserting its power on others."

Turkey sought to allay concerns of Iraqi government by halting further deployment of troops while dispatching senior officials from intelligence and foreign ministry to Baghdad to talk to Iraqi officials.

Nevertheless, Iraq on Thursday contacted the UN Security Council, asking the permanent members to condemning Turkey's actions. It also called Arab League to hold an emergency session on that issue.

"Whatever the reason, Turkish forces have clearly outstayed their welcome as far as the central government is concerned", Semih Idiz, foreign policy expert, said.

He noted that Iraq has applied to the UN Security Council where it can rely on Russian support.

In addition to Turkish trainers, Ankara's oil agreement with KRG, in defiance of Baghdad's warnings and strong objection, is also another source of friction.

Baghdad claimed Turkey violated the Iraqi constitution by signing a deal with the Kurdish region on energy without its approval.

Ankara denies such charges and say the disagreement is between Baghdad and Arbil.

According to Erkmen, Turkey, an energy dependent country, wants to deepen energy cooperation with the KRG especially after the recent crisis with Russia, its main gas and oil supplier.

In a further sign of close cooperation, the KRG flag placed alongside the Turkish and Iraqi flags during Barzani's meeting with Turkish prime minister.

The gesture was welcomed by Barzani who thanked Davutoglu for the sensitivity displayed for his visit, according to Rudaw. Enditem