Iraq and Turkey agree to remove banned armed groups from Sinjar

Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Faleh Al-Zaidi and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed during their meeting in New York to restore full Iraqi state authority in Sinjar and to transfer control of the Zelikan camp to Iraqi federal forces.

According to a joint statement, Al-Zaidi and President Erdogan announced their agreement to deepen security cooperation during negotiations on strategic relations between the two countries. They also agreed to fully extend Iraqi state authority in Sinjar and to end the presence of banned foreign armed groups, according to the Iraqi News Agency.

Turkish forces will gradually hand over the Bashiqa-Zelikan camp to the Iraqi federal government, following an agreed mechanism and timetable. The two sides also agreed to expand bilateral trade and investment, implement signed agreements immediately, and accelerate joint strategic projects, particularly the Development Road project.