Iraqi official underlines Turkish PM's visit to Baghdad

Erdogan will meet Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and President Jalal Talabani, during his forthcoming stay in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, The Times quoted Dabbagh on Monday.

“It is highly significant. It is very important for us to diversify our relationship,” Dabbagh said, declining to give exact dates. �

The continuing raids by Turkey against the outlawed separatist PKK, who hideouts along its mountainous border with northern Iraq, will be discussed during the meetings, The Times reported.

Turkey is thinking of a railway from Basra, a new line which will facilitate the transit of goods, Dabbagh told the British paper.

“We are looking to have a strategic relationship with Turkey. We want to have a relationship that covers all levels: security, economy, political, social, cultural,” he added.

Talabani last month told Iraqi TV channels that Erdogan would pay a visit to Baghdad soon.

Ankara has begun to establish a dialogue mechanism with the Kurdish administration of northern Iraq, an important shift in Turkey's foreign policy as a part of its intensified fight against the separatist PKK on both diplomatic and military fronts. �

Turkey has stepped up military action against the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist group by much of the international community including the U.S. and the EU, since December, carrying out several air strikes and a week-long ground incursion into northern Iraq in February, where more than 2,000 PKK separatists take refuge.