BAGHDAD - Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday "the fight against terror can not be successfully conducted by an individual country. International solidarity is a must in the fight against terrorism."
Erdogan and his Iraqi counterpart Nuri al-Maliki held a press conference following their tete-a-tete meeting in Baghdad on Thursday.
"We have discussed with al-Maliki the issues of water, Kirkuk and terrorism. We know that there are debates taking place in the Iraqi parliament on the establishment of a political union in Kirkuk with the participation of Arabs, Kurds, Turkmens and Christians," Erdogan said.
"Although we are in need of water in Turkey, we are providing Iraq with more water than we had promised. We are after new investments in the region on the issue of water. New projects in south-eastern and eastern Anatolia would provide more water sources to Turkey and Iraq in the next five years," Erdogan said.
In response to a question on Turkey's military operations waged against PKK terrorists in north of Iraq, Erdogan stressed that air operations took place in coordination with the coalition forces and Iraq.
"The land operation targeted only the terrorist organization PKK and civilians were never the target. We thank Iraq for its support of Turkey," Erdogan stressed.
Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki said that he is "pleased to see the leader of a strategic neighbor and regional economic power Turkey in Baghdad."
"This is a historical visit. This is the right time to develop relations between Turkey and Iraq," al-Maliki said.
"Iraq wishes to develop its ties, seeking solutions to its problems," al-Maliki noted.
"The current visit of Erdogan shows to the whole region that dialogue is essential. It is a symbol that problems can be solved through dialogue instead of fighting and shooting each other," al-Maliki stressed.
In response to a question on Iraq's oil reserves, al-Maliki stated that "Iraq must increase the production of oil."
"I am hopeful that Turkish companies would play an important role in the rebuilding of Iraq after decades of wars and embargoes," al-Maliki also said.
(SOL-CE)
(POL)