FM Davutoglu due in Iraq today

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and State Minister for Foreign Trade Zafer Caglayan will visit Baghdad, Iraq today to attend a bilateral High-Level Strategic Cooperation Council. Davutoglu is expected to convey Turkish expectations of the fight against the terrorist PKK under the trilateral anti-terrorism mechanism established last year by Turkey, Iraq and the US. Caglayan also will hold talks to boost bilateral relations during the visit. According to the Foreign Ministry, Davutoglu is set to pay an additional three-day visit to Iraq at the end of this month. Stating that Davutoglu will hold talks with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and his Iraqi counterpart Hoshyar Zebari, it added that he will also meet with Kurdish regional administration leader Massoud Barzani in Erbil and visit Mosul and Kirkuk. As part of his second visit, Davoutoglu will inaugurate a new Turkish Consulate in Basra.