Turkey, Iraq focus on military cooperation against IS

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu(R) shakes hands with visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi during a joint press conference in Ankara, capital of Turkey, on Dec. 25, 2014. Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi arrived in the Turkish capital Ankara for a fresh round of talks to boost bilateral ties. [Xinhua/Mustafa Kaya] 

Turkey and Iraq are working towards greater military cooperation in fighting Islamic State militants.

At a joint press conference on Thursday, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told his visiting Iraqi counterpart, Haider al-Abadi, Turkey is ready to extend military assistance to its neighbor.

"We are open to any suggestions to support the Iraqi government, and we will weigh any suggestion. Talks are underway with Iraqi security officials to expand our support in the fields of training and supply, as well as helping further cooperation in other fields. We are ready for all kinds of help."

Abadi, the first Iraqi prime minister to visit Turkey since 2010, signaled Turkey could be sending arms to Iraq.

"Islamic State is a threat against the whole region, so we need to cooperate. We expect Turkey to expand its cooperation, and the prime minister has pledged that they will provide us with this support. We talked about expanding military, intelligence, training and artillery support. A list was handed to Turkish officials, and our brothers told us they are ready to support us."

Turkey is already training Kurdish peshmerga fighters in northern Iraq to help battle IS forces, who control territory in Iraq and Syria.

Despite a 1,200-kilometer border with Iraq and Syria, Ankara has been reluctant to provide greater support to the US-led air strikes, insisting the coalition must also aim to topple Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Turkey and Iraq have had tense relations for years over Ankara's support to the Kurdish autonomous region in northern Iraq.

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