Barzani to arrive in Turkey today

Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan regional of Iraq, is set to visit Turkey on Thursday and Friday to hold contacts with Turkish officials and Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi on bilateral relations, regional developments, fight against terrorism and serious internal political issues in Iraq. A Foreign Ministry statement said that Massoud Barzani was scheduled for a two-day visit, and was expected to be received by President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. Barzani is also expected to meet with Hashemi, for whom the Shiite-led central government issued an arrest warrant in late 2011. Hashemi already stated that he would return to Iraq and would not seek political asylum in neighboring countries. Hashemi went to Qatar in early April, leaving the country for the first time after the crisis broke out in December. Afterwards, he visited Saudi Arabia, which is uneasy with the Shiite-led government in Baghdad. Last week Hashemi came to Turkey, seeking political support. He met with Prime Minister Erdogan and other officials to assess the situation in Iraq.