Turkey and Iraq Agree to Gradual Bashiqa Base Handover

Turkey and Iraq have agreed to deepen security cooperation, including a gradual transfer of the Bashiqa-Zilkan military base to Iraq’s federal government and efforts to establish full Iraqi state authority in Sinjar, according to a joint statement issued after talks between their leaders in New York on September 23. The statement said Turkish forces would hand over the base under an agreed mechanism and timetable, as Iraq makes progress on security measures. It did not specify when the transfer would begin or be completed. The agreement was announced after Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. The leaders also agreed to work toward ending the presence of outlawed foreign armed elements in Sinjar, a mountainous area in northern Iraq. The statement did not identify the groups or detail how the objective would be carried out. The agreement sets out a shared goal, but does not establish that Iraqi state authority has already been restored or that armed groups have left.