Türkiye’nin Erbil ve Süleymaniye Arasındaki İkili Karşıtlığı, Irak Kalkınma Yolu Projesi ve PKK ile Mücadele

Abstract

Türk dış politikasına yönelik ortaya çıkmış geniş literatür, farklı Iraklı Kürt aktörler arasında pek bir ayrım yapmaksızın, Türk politika yapıcıların Irak Kürtlerine ilişkin politika tercihlerini ve girişimlerini uzun süredir tartışmıştır. Her ne kadar Türk siyasi liderleri zaman zaman bazı Iraklı Kürt aktörlerle diğerlerinden daha yakın ilişkiler kurmuş olsa da, yakın zamana kadar Irak Kürt siyasetinin farklı siyasi aktörlerine yönelik olarak Türkiye açısından büyük bir politika farklılığı yaşanmamıştır. Ancak özellikle 2017 Irak Kürt bağımsızlık referandumundan itibaren Türkiye'nin Kürdistan Demokrat Partisi (KDP) ve Kürdistan Yurtseverler Birliği (KYB) karşısındaki tutum ve söylemleri arasında giderek artan düzeyde farklılıklar gözlemlemek mümkün olmuştur. Türkiye'nin PKK ile mücadelesinde KDP ile işbirliği son birkaç yıldır önemli ölçüde artmışken, Türk yetkililerin KYB'nin PKK ve YPG ile olan bağlarından duyduğu tedirginliğin düzeyi giderek yükselmiş ve daha belirgin hale gelmiştir. Bu makale, Irak ile Kuru Kanal/Kalkınma Yolu projesine ilişkin devam eden tartışmalar ve Türkiye'nin PKK ile mücadelesi bağlamında, Türkiye'nin 2017'den bu yana KDP ve KYB'ye yönelik değişen tutum ve söylemlerini ele almaktadır.

Keywords

• Türk dış politikası
• Irak
• IKBY
• Kalkınma yolu

Turkey’s Emerging Dichotomy between Erbil and Sulaimaniyah, Iraqi Development Road Project and the Fight Against the PKK

Abstract

The vast literature on Turkish foreign policy has long discussed Turkish policymakers’ policy preferences and initiatives vis-à-vis the Iraqi Kurds without making much of a distinction among various Iraqi Kurdish actors. Although Turkish political leaders built closer relations with certain Iraqi Kurdish actors than others from time to time, there has not been a major policy variation toward different political actors of Iraqi Kurdish politics until recently. However, especially from the 2017 Iraqi Kurdish independence referendum onwards, it has been possible to observe an increasing level of divergence between Turkey’s attitude and discourse vis-à-vis the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), two major political parties of the Iraqi Kurdish politics. While Turkey’s cooperation with the KDP in the struggle against the PKK has significantly increased in the past few years, Turkish officials’ uneasiness regarding the PUK ties with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the People’s Protection Units (YPG) has been more and more apparent. This paper provides an account of Turkey’s changing attitude and discourse about the KDP and the PUK since 2017 within the context of the ongoing discussions about the Iraqi Dry Canal/Development Road project as well as Turkey’s fight against the PKK.

Keywords

• Turkish foreign policy
• Iraq
• KRG
• Development road

References

1. Alaaldin, Ranj (2016). “Why the Turkey-KDP Alliance Works, for Now,” Brookings, 8 November, https://www.brookings.edu/articles/why-the-turkey-krg-alliance-works-for-now/ (Accessed 12 March, 2024).
2. Alaca, Mehmet (2024). “Deep Dive: Why the PUK-Turkey Divide Remains a Chasm”, Amwaj Media, 21 February, https://amwaj.media/article/deep-dive-why-the-puk-turkey-divide-remains-a-chasm (Accessed 17 March, 2024).
3. Alaca, Mehmet (2022). “Will Turkey’s Outreach to the PUK Change Iraqi Kurdish Politics?” Amwaj Media, May 3, https://amwaj.media/article/will-turkey-s-outreach-to-the-puk-change-kurdish-politics (Accessed 12 March 2024).
4. Al-Jeratli, Khaled (2023). “Kurdish-Kurdish dialogue fails in “power-sharing” battle”, Enab Baladi, 24 July, https://english.enabbaladi.net/archives/2023/07/kurdish-kurdish-dialogue-fails-in-power-sharing-battle/ (Accessed 7 April 2024).
5. Anadolu Agency (2024). “Cooperation between PKK, OUK Threatens Stability in Sulaimaniyah, Iraq”, Anadolu Agency, 24 February, https://www.aa.com.tr/en/middle-east/cooperation-between-puk-pkk-threatens-stability-in-sulaymaniyah-iraq/3146538.
6. Ataman, Muhittin (2002). “Özal Leadership and Restructuring of Turkish Ethnic Policy in the 1980s”, Middle Eastern Studies, 38 (4), 123-142.
7. Aydoğan, Merve (2023). “Türkiye Will Not Allow Terror Group to ‘Nest’ in N. Iraq, Says Presidential Spokesman,” Anadolu Agency, 5 April, https://www.aa.com.tr/en/turkiye/turkiye-will-not-allow-terror-group-to-nest-in-n-iraq-says-presidential-spokesman/2864499 (Accessed 12 March 2024).
8. Aykan, Mahmut Bali (1998). Türkiye’nin Kuveyt Krizi (1990-91) Politikası: 1998 Yılından Geriye Yönelik Bir Yeniden Değerlendirme. Ankara: Dış Politika Enstitüsü.

9. Aykan, Mahmut Bali (1996). “Turkey’s Policy in Northern Iraq, 1991-95”, Middle Eastern Studies, 32 (4): 343-366.
10. Balcı, Çağatay (2024). “Iran, PUK, and PKK: Future of Strategic Triangle”, Daily Sabah, 20 February, https://www.dailysabah.com/opinion/op-ed/iran-puk-and-pkk-future-of-strategic-triangle (Accessed 8 April 2024).
11. Balcı, Ali (2014). “‘Enerji’sine Kavuşan Komşuluk: Türkiye-Kürdistan Bölgesel Yönetimi İlişkileri”, Analiz 97, SETA, June.
12. Barkey, Henri J. (2015). “On the KRG, the Turkish-Kurdish Peace Process, and the Future of the Kurds”. Global Turkey in Europe series, Working Paper 12. Woodrow Wilson Center. July.
13. Barkey, Henri (2011). “Turkey and Iraq: The Making of a Partnership”, Turkish Studies, 12 (4): 663-674.
14. Barkey, Henri J. (2010). “Turkey’s New Engagement in Iraq: Embracing Iraqi Kurdistan”, United States Institute of Peace: Special Report 237. May.
15. Bozarslan, Mahmut (2017). “Why did Turkey Expel Iraqi Kurdish Leader?” Al Monitor, 30 August, https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2017/08/turkey-iraqi-kurdistan-why-ankara-deport-puk-envoy.html (Accessed 12 March 2024).
16. Bryza, Matthew J. (2012). “Turkey’s Dramatic Shift Toward Iraqi Kurdistan: Politics Before Peace Pipelines”, Turkish Policy Quarterly, 11 (2): 53-61.
17. Cagaptay, Soner (2014). “Turkey’s Kurdish Buffer: Why Erdogan Is Ready to Work with the Kurds”, Snapshot, Foreign Affairs, 1 July 2014.
18. Cagaptay, Soner (2007). “Everybody’s Kurdish Problem,” The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, 1 November, https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/everybodys-kurdish-problem (Accessed 12 March, 2024).
19. Charountaki, M. (2012). “Turkish Foreign Policy and the Kurdistan Regional Government”, Perceptions, 17 (4): 185-208.
20. Cornell, S. E. (2012). “What Drives Turkish Foreign Policy: Changes in Turkey”, The Middle East Quarterly, 19 (1): 13-24.
21. Criss, Bilge (1997). “Turkish Foreign Policy Toward the Middle East”, Middle East Review of International Affairs, (1).
22. Çamlıbel, Cansu (2017). “US: Relations with YPG Temporary, Transactional, Tactical,” Hürriyet Daily News, 19 May, https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/us-relations-with-ypg-temporary-transactional-tactical-113277 (Accessed 12 March 2024).
23. Daily Sabah (2024). “Turkey Counts Down to Major Operation in Iraq Against PKK”, Daily Sabah, March 11, https://www.dailysabah.com/politics/war-on-terror/turkiye-counts-down-to-major-operation-in-iraq-against-pkk (Accessed 16 March 2024).
24. Dri, Kaewan Faidhi (2020). “Will KDP-PKK Tensions Ever End in Reconciliation?” Rudaw, 25 November, https://www.rudaw.net/english/analysis/25112020 (Accessed 12 March 2024).
25. Duvar English (2024). “Turkish President Erdoğan Plans Mass Military Operation in Iraq, Syria Against PKK”, Duvar English, 11 March, https://www.duvarenglish.com/turkish-president-erdogan-plans-mass-military-operation-in-iraq-syria-against-pkk-news-63995 (Accessed 15 March 2024).
26. Elmalı, Burak (2023). “Türkiye’s ‘Development Road’ and Geopolitics of Interconnectedness”, Opinion, Anadolu Agency, 2 October, https://www.aa.com.tr/en/analysis/opinion-turkiyes-development-road-and-geopolitics-of-interconnectedness/3005929 (Accessed 17 March, 2024).
27. Erkmen, Serhat (2024). “Irak Türkiye’nin Gündemine Neden Girdi”, Fikir Turu, 15 March, https://fikirturu.com/jeo-politik/irak-turkiyenin-gundemine-neden-girdi/ (Accessed 17 March 2024).
28. Gözen, Ramazan (2004). “Türkiye ve I. Körfez Savaşı: Kriz Ortamında Dış Politika”, Faruk Sönmezoğlu (ed.), Türk Dış Politikasının Analizi. İstanbul: Der Yayınları.
29. Gözen, Ramazan (2000). Amerikan Kıskacında Dış Politika: Körfez Savaşı, Turgut Özal ve Sonrası. Ankara: Liberte Yayınları.
30. Hale, William (1992). “Turkey, the Middle East and the Gulf Crisis”, International Affairs, 68 (4), 679-692.
31. Hürriyet Daily News (2023). “Türkiye Closes Airspace for Flights from/to Sulaymaniyah Airport over PKK Acts”,
32. Hürriyet Daily News, 5 April, https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkiye-closes-airspace-for-flights-from-to-sulaymaniyah-airport-over-pkk-acts-182154 (Accessed 7 April 2024).
33. Jenkins, Gareth (2013). “Good Kurd, Bad Kurd: The AKP’s Rapprochment with the KRG”, Turkey Analyst, 6 (22).
34. Kayhan Pusane, Özlem (2020). “The Role of Context in Desecuritization: Turkish Foreign Policy towards Northern Iraq (2008-2017)”, Turkish Studies, 21 (3): 392-413.
35. Kayhan Pusane, Özlem (2017). “Türkiye’nin Kuzey Irak Politikasında Değişim Süreçleri: Turgut Özal ve Tayyip Erdoğan Dönemlerine Yönelik Karşılaştırmalı bir Analiz”, Uluslararası İlişkiler Dergisi, 14 (56): 39-53.
36. Kayhan Pusane, Özlem (2016). “Turkey’s Changing Relations with the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government”, Middle East Review of International Affairs, 20 (2).
37. Kemal, Levent (2023). “Iraq-Syria: Helicopter Crash Might Have Revealed A Secret PKK Air Route,” Middle East Eye, 21 March, https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/iraq-syria-helicopter-crash-pkk-air-route-secret-revealed (Accessed 12 March 2024).
38. Kırbaki, Yorgo (2023). “Bakan Çavuşoğlu’ndan Süleymaniye Açıklamaları! Talabani’nin Partisi PKK Kontrolünde,” Hürriyet, 12 April, https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/gundem/bakan-cavusoglundan-suleymaniye-aciklamalari-talabaninin-partisi-pkk-kontrolunde-42249903 (Accessed 12 March 2024).
39. Laçiner, Sedat (2009). “Turgut Özal Period in Turkish Foreign Policy: Özalism”, USAK Yearbook, (2), 153-205.
40. Mango, Andrew (1992). “Turkish Policy in the Middle East: Turning Danger to Profit”, C.H. Dodd (ed.), Turkish Foreign Policy: New Prospects. The Eothen Press.
41. Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Iraq (2024). Joint Statement On The Security Mechanism Meeting Between The Republic Of Iraq And The Republic Of Turkey In Baghdad On March 14, 2024, https://mofa.gov.iq/2024/44219/ (Accessed 16 March, 2024).
42. Outzen, Rich (2023). “Prospects for US-Turkish Convergence on Syria”, Defense Journal by Atlantic Council in Turkey, 22 June, https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/content-series/ac-turkey-defense-journal/prospects-for-us-turkish-convergence-on-syria/ (Accessed 15 March, 2024).
43. Özcan, Mesut (2011). “From Distance to Engagement: Turkish Foreign Policy towards the Middle East, Iraq and the Iraqi Kurds”, Insight Turkey, 13 (2): 71-92.
44. Özcan, Mesut (2010). “Turkish Foreign Policy Towards Iraq in 2009,” Perceptions, 15 (3/4): 113- 132. Park, Bill (2014). Turkey-Kurdish Regional Government Relations After the U.S. Withdrawal from Iraq: Putting the Kurds on the Map. Carlisle Barracks, PA: United States Army War College Press.
45. Park, Bill (2012). “Turkey, the US and the KRG: Moving Parts and the Geopolitical Realities”, Insight Turkey, 14 (3): 109-125.
46. Reuters (2024). “Turkey, Iraq Hold Security Talks in Baghdad, Iraqi Government Says”, Reuters, 15 March, https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/turkey-discuss-common-understanding-security-with-iraq-official-2024-03-14/ (Accessed 16 March 2024).
47. Robins, Philip (2003a). Suits and Uniforms: Turkish Foreign Policy since the Cold War. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
48. Robins, Philip (2003b). “Confusion at Home, Confusion Abroad: Turkey between Copenhagen and Iraq”, International Affairs, 79 (3), 547-566.
49. Robins, Philip (1991). Turkey and the Middle East. New York: Council on Foreign Relations.
50. Romano, David (2015). “Iraqi Kurdistan and Turkey: Temporary Marriage?” Middle East Policy, 21 (1), 89-101.
51. Rudaw (2018). “Talabani ile Türk Başkonsolosu Bir Araya Geldi,” Rudaw, March 26, https://www.rudaw.net/turkish/kurdistan/2603201810 (Accessed 12 March 2024).
52. Sarı Ertem, Helin (2011). “Turkish-American Relations and Northern Iraq: Relief At Last?”, Özden Zeynep Oktav (ed.), Turkey in the 21st Century: Quest for a New Policy. Ashgate.
53. Sayarı, Sabri (1997). “Turkey and the Middle East in the 1990s”, Journal of Palestine Studies, 26 (3), 44-55.
54. Sayarı, Sabri (1992). “Turkey: The Changing European Security Environment and the Gulf Crisis”, Middle East Journal, 46 (1), 9-21.
55. Soylu, Ragıp (2023). “Turkey’s Foreign Minister Meet Iraq’s Shia Heavyweights to deepen Cooperation”, Middle East Eye, 24 August, https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/turkey-iraq-foreign-minister-political-heavyweights-comprehensive-trip (Accessed 15 March 2024).
56. Tocci, Nathalie (2013). “Turkey’s Kurdish Gamble”, The International Spectator, 48 (3): 67-77.
57. Tol, Gönül (2014). “Untangling the Turkey-KRG Energy Partnership: Looking Beyond Economic Drivers”. Global Turkey in Europe series. Policy Brief 14. March. http://www.iai.it/sites/default/files/GTE_PB_14.pdf (Accessed 14 March 2024).
58. United Nations (1991). United Nations Security Council Resolution 688 (1991) / adopted by the Security Council at its 2982nd meeting, on 5 April 1991, https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/110659?ln=en&v=pdf (Accessed 12 March 2024).
59. Van Wilgenburg, Wladimir (2023). “Angry Ankara,” Dispatches, Malcolm H. Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center, 12 May, https://carnegie-mec.org/diwan/89733 (12 March 2024).
60. Zaman, Amberin (2017). “Ankara Silent on Turkish Agents Allegedly Caught in Iraq Assassination Plot, Al Monitor, 28 August, https://www.al-monitor.com/originals/2017/08/pkk-claims-arrest-turkish-intelligence-officers.html (Accessed 12 March 2024).