Turkiye, Iraq to Finalize Deal on Joint Operations Center Against PKK on Monday - Reports

ANKARA (Sputnik) - Ankara and Baghdad are expected to finalize an agreement on a joint operations center to fight the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) during the visit of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to Iraq on Monday, Turkish newspaper Hurriyet reported on Sunday, citing unnamed sources.

Turkiye proposed the establishment of a joint operations center, a security zone 30-40 kilometers (18.5-25 miles) deep into Iraqi territory, in mid-March at a security summit in Baghdad.

Erdogan will visit Iraq at the invitation of Prime Minister Mohammed Shyaa al Sudani, Hurriyet reported. The parties are expected to sign up to 30 agreements, including the one aimed at eliminating PKK militants in Iraq, according to the report.

The parties are also expected to agree upon the creation of a security zone along the Turkish-Iraqi border, the newspaper reported.

The armed conflict between the PKK and Turkiye began in 1984 and reignited in 2015. The organization, which seeks the creation of an independent Kurdish state, including on Turkish territory, has established bases in Iraqi and Syrian territories close to the Turkish border, where the Turkish military has been targeting them in land and air strikes.