By: Serkan Demirtaş / Hurriyet Daily News
Senior Turkish officials are
headed for Washington in a bid to calm down U.S. concerns over Ankara’s increasing involvement in northern Iraq. Turkey and the United States are to hold intensified talks on Turkish energy companies’ involvement in northern Iraq, which has drawn Washington’s annoyance and concerns that the rapprochement between Ankara and Arbil could further push Baghdad toward Tehran.
Undersecretary of the Foreign Ministry Feridun Sinirlioğlu is scheduled to visit Washington late next week to hold talks with his counterpart, Deputy Secretary William Burns,
and other senior diplomats. Although Sinirlioğlu’s talks will include a number of serious issues varying from Syria to Iran, ongoing disagreement with Washington on Turkey’s growing energy ties with northern Iraq will be among the top agenda issues. Turkey’s top diplomat is also planned to include bureaucrats from the Energy Ministry and other relevant ministries to hold detailed talks about Turkey’s ongoing activities in northern Iraq.
Read more in Hurriyet Daily News here.