Türkiye insists that its forces remain in Iraq and Syria until border security is guaranteed

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Turkey's adherence to maintaining its military forces in Iraq and Syria has brought the issue of the Turkish presence in the two countries back to the forefront, amidst a difference in positions regarding the future of this deployment, between Iraqi demands to end it and Turkish assurances linking the review of the deployment of forces to achieving border security requirements.

These developments coincide with the transformations in the course of the relationship between Turkey and the PKK, in addition to Syrian-Turkish movements to activate joint security understandings, which raises questions about the future of the Turkish military presence in the region, in light of the different security conditions and demands between Baghdad and Damascus.

Iraqi sources reported to Al-Arabiya.net and Al-Hadath.net that Baghdad intends to send a protest note to Ankara, against the backdrop of Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Guler’s statements regarding the continued Turkish military presence in Iraq and Syria, and his country’s insistence on the presence of its forces until border security is fully guaranteed.

The sources added that Iraq is demanding an end to the Turkish military presence on its territory, after the dissolution of the Kurdistan Workers' Party and its entry into negotiations with Turkey, in a development that re-examines the future of Turkish military bases and sites in Iraq, and the justifications for their continuation in light of the changes related to the Kurdish file.

On the other hand, Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Guler confirmed that his country will keep its forces in Iraq and Syria until the security of the borders with the two countries is fully guaranteed.

Guler said, in a written response to questions from Agence France-Presse, that Turkey maintains its military presence in Iraq and Syria, adding that Ankara will review the status of the deployment sites of its forces and its military presence in the region when it is sure that the necessary conditions related to regional and border security are met.

The roots of the Turkish military presence in the Iraqi Kurdistan region and the north of the country go back to the 1980s, with the escalation of the confrontation between Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which took mountainous areas inside Iraqi territory as rear bases for its armed activity. Türkiye has intensified its cross-border military operations over the past years, and has established military sites and bases in areas of northern Iraq, justifying this by the need to prevent the party from using Iraqi territory to launch attacks inside Türkiye.

This deployment sparked repeated disputes between Baghdad and Ankara regarding Iraqi sovereignty, as the Iraqi government demanded on several occasions to respect the country’s borders and end Turkish military operations, while Ankara maintained that its presence aimed to protect its national security and confront the threats of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party.

In Syria, the Turkish military presence has expanded since 2016 through a series of military operations in the north of the country, which Ankara said targeted organizations it considers a threat to its national security, most notably the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, which it considers an extension of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party. Türkiye established observation points and military bases in several Syrian regions, and maintained its presence in its areas of influence in the north of the country.

On the Syrian track, government sources revealed to Al-Arabiya.net and Al-Hadath.net that Damascus and Ankara are currently working to activate the joint security understanding with the aim of organizing the Turkish military presence on Syrian territory, in parallel with efforts to enhance security and military coordination between the two sides. This path differs from the Iraqi case, in light of the nature of the existing understandings between Damascus and Ankara and the security issues that the two parties seek to address.

While Baghdad is pressing towards ending the Turkish military presence on its territory, Ankara continues to link the future deployment of its forces to achieving its security conditions, while the relationship with Damascus is moving towards coordinating joint security arrangements, which puts the future of the Turkish military presence in Iraq and Syria before two different paths governed by different security and political calculations.