Kurdish separatists and water issues loom large in long-awaited Erdogan visit to Iraq

By QASSIM ABDUL-ZAHRA and SUZAN FRASER
Associated Press

BAGHDAD (AP) — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is set to make his first official visit to Iraq in more than a decade. Turkey is seeking greater cooperation from Baghdad in its fight against a Kurdish militant group that has a foothold in northern Iraq. Other issues also loom large between the two countries. They include water supply issues and exports of oil and gas from northern Iraq to Turkey which have been halted for more than a year. Erdogan has said his country plans to launch a major operation against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party or PKK. The Kurdish separatist movement is banned in Turkey. Erdogan is making his visit to Iraq on Monday.