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Turkish and Iraqi delegations will meet in a few weeks to discuss the opening of a new border crossing, Turkish ambassador to Iraq said on Monday.
A field visit is also expected following the meeting, Fatih Yildiz told Anadolu Agency on the sidelines of the 10th Ambassadors’ Conference in capital Ankara.
The planned Ovakoy Border Gate will directly link Turkey to Baghdad via a 570-kilometer (354-mile) highway.
Yildiz said the planned border terminal would also trigger an economic revival in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.
The Ovaköy border gate project is being delayed due to U.S. pressures on the Iraqi government although Ankara and Baghdad had reached a consensus regarding the matter.The border gate, an alternative to the Ibrahim Khalil (Habur) border crossing located between Turkey and the Kurdish region in northern Iraq, will cut off the weapons supply of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terror group.PKK pledges terrorists to Assad in exchange for AfrinWashington, which is currently using the Ibrahim Khalil border crossing to supply weapons to terrorists from the PKK in Syria, is afraid of losing its terror card in the region and trying to force the Iraqi administration to stop the Ovaköy Border Gate project.The Ovaköy line will start from the bottom of the Syrian border in the west of Habur, passing near Turkmen and Arab regions and will enable goods and services to be delivered directly to Baghdad.Assad regime begins strikes on Syria's Turkmen MountainThe 120-kilometer stabilized road to be used for connection to the main road from Mosul will become an international trade route.Turkey first announced the Ovaköy gate project at the end of 2017, after it shut down the main border crossing Habur in response to the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG)'s independence referendum on Sept. 25.US afraid of losing its terror leverageSpeaking to Yeni Şafak daily, Prof Dr. Mahir Nakip, head of international relations at Çankaya University and originally from Kirkuk, said, “The U.S. is blocking this project fearing the loss of its terror card.”The U.S has supplied the PKK/PYD terror organization with more than 5,000 truckloads of weapons to allegedly use in the fight against Daesh, despite Ankara’s warnings that the group is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK terror organization.Turkish forces neutralize 'most wanted' PKK terroristNakip stated that after the opening of the new border gate and closure of Habur, the Sinjar mountains, which was being prepared as an alternative base for PKK terrorists, will be bypassed.The U.S. had already prepared a deployment in Sinjar aimed at establishing a military base on the mountain where the PKK terrorist group is still present in the region under the name of the Sinjar Resistance Units (YBŞ). The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States. The PKK has been conducting armed violence in the southeastern part of Turkey since 1984. More than 40,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the three-decade long conflict.Ovaköy would be the best response to US blackmail“The opening of the Ovaköy trade gate would be the best answer to the U.S. which has started to economically blackmail Turkey,” Nakip said.Turkey and the U.S. are currently experiencing rocky relations following Washington’s imposition of sanctions on Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu and Justice Minister Abdülhamit Gül for not releasing American Pastor Andrew Brunson, who faces terrorism charges in Turkey.U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday ramped up his attack on Turkey by doubling U.S. tariffs on Turkish aluminum and steel imports to 20 percent and 50 percent, respectively.Turkish economic structure solid: Presidential aideAn attempt to separate Turkey from the Muslim worldStressing that the Ovaköy border gate was significant to break the political, military and economic siege trying divide Turkey from the Muslim world, Prof. Nakip said, “This gate as an operation will be the starting point of a new movement extending from Iraq to the Muslim world. Iraqi Arabs, Turkmens and Kurds support Turkey a hundred percent for the opening of this crossing point. Feasibility studies on the construction of the whole border and the new bridge across Habur River have been completed and will be launched when the line starts to operate. Turkey has undertaken the construction of this bridge.”He also underlined that Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) leader Barzani gained more than 600 million dollars annually from the Habur gate because it is the only trade route between Iraq and Turkey.
US attempts to sabotage Ovaköy border gate between Turkey, Iraq
Last week, Qazim al-Akabi, the head of Iraq’s committee for border crossings, said the two sides had agreed to dispatch technical experts to the border region sometime next month to conduct a feasibility study.
About Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi's upcoming visit to Turkey on Tuesday, Yildiz said counterterrorism and the reconstruction of Iraq would be on the agenda.
“Now that Deash is over, they should be inclined to fight against the PKK,” Yildiz said.
“The Iraqis know how to fight against terrorism. This is a fight for which power can be used when necessary.”
Water, electricity and petroleum management in Iraq are also expected to be discussed.
Highlighting water as a significant area of bilateral relations, Yildiz said Turkey is ready to assist Iraq in water management and agricultural irrigation.
“Our understanding here is that water should become an area based on a cooperation, not separating the two sides,” he said.
On relations with the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), Yildiz said Turkey is not prone to cooperate with it in case KRG contemplates secession from Iraq.
“KRG can find Turkey close to cooperation, when it acts as part of a united and integrated Iraq,” the ambassador said.