BAGHDAD: President of Iraq Abdul Latif Rashid has said he is looking for a security pact with Turkey, Western media reported on Monday.
While rejecting Turkish strikes on the territory of Iraq he said Baghdad is looking for a security agreement with Ankara like Tehran.
Earlier Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said that Turkey will intensify its campaign against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq after the armed group claimed responsibility for the Sunday suicide attack on a security building in Ankara.
Soon after the attack Turkish fighter jets conducted airstrikes on suspected Kurdish militant hideouts in northern Iraq destroying about 20 targets of the PKK.
However, Iraqi President Abdul-Latif Rashid rejected Turkish air strikes hoping to come to an agreement with Ankara to solve the problem.
Read Also: EU Ready for ‘Constructive Relationship’ with Turkey: Spokesperson
Turkey considers the PKK as a terrorist group and regularly carries out air strikes in northern Iraq.
President of Iraq Abdul Latif Rashid is a member of the Iraqi Kurdish PUK party that has close ties to Iran.
Rashid in his remarks said Baghdad wants to come to an agreement with Ankara to resolve the issue in a manner similar to a security pact Iraq has signed with Iran to deal with Kurdish separatist groups.
Earlier on Sunday, a suicide bomber blew himself up near an entrance of the Interior Ministry, injuring two police officers.
