Erdoğan congratulates Iraq's Rashid on election

Photo: AA/File

Ankara does not consider the peace, stability, and well-being of neighboring Iraq as separate from its own, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told his new counterpart in Iraq.

In a phone call on Saturday (October 22), Erdoğan congratulated Abdul Latif Rashid on his election as Iraq's new president, according to a statement from Türkiye's Communications Directorate.

Iraqi lawmakers elected Rashid on Thursday by a vote of 162-99, succeeding Barham Salih, who had been president since 2018.

Erdogan told Rashid that Türkiye will continue its efforts to develop relations in every field in a way that will contribute to regional security, stability, and prosperity.

Thanking Erdoğan for his congratulations, Rashidi underscored the importance of the relationship with Türkiye, according to the Iraqi News Agency. Boosting ties across all fields, in ways that would ensure both countries' common interests and ensure progress and would be the best for the prosperity for the citizens of both countries, he said.

The two countries' relations were strained following an artillery attack in July that killed nine Arab tourists in Zakho in Iraq's Kurdistan region. Some government officials and various political entities in Iraq blamed Türkiye for the attack, with large-scale protests held in Baghdad, the capital.

Türkiye, which has been carrying out military operations in Kurdistan since 2019, denied responsibility for the attack. (VK)