Agreement in New York

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi reached an agreement on 23 September 2026 to transfer control of the Bashiqa-Zilkan military base in northern Iraq to the Iraqi federal government. The decision was finalized during a bilateral meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. According to the joint statement released after the session, Turkish armed forces will gradually hand over the military complex according to an agreed timeline and mechanism. The handover depends on security measures implemented by Iraqi authorities in northern border areas.

United States Ambassador to Turkey and Special Envoy for Syria and Iraq Tom Barrack commented on the accord on social media:

“History rarely announces its turning points, it weaves them in silence. Zilkan's return to Baghdad by an agreed mechanism and timeline is one thread.”

Security conditions in Sinjar

Under the terms of the accord, the Iraqi government committed to establishing full state authority over the Sinjar region near the Syrian border and ending the presence of banned foreign armed groups. Ankara has long pressured Baghdad to restrict armed factions operating in Sinjar, which Turkish authorities regard as a threat to national security. In early September 2026, the Iraqi federal government announced that Sinjar would be placed under full federal administrative and security jurisdiction following a disarmament agreement with local Yazidi armed groups. Turkish authorities have monitored the transit corridor connecting Sinjar, Mahmour, and the Qandil mountains to prevent cross-border operations. Turkey is engaged in a peace process with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which announced its dissolution and disarmament in northern Iraq last year.

History of the Bashiqa base

The Bashiqa compound, located near Mosul, has remained a point of diplomatic tension between Ankara and Baghdad since its establishment in December 2015. Turkish forces initially deployed up to 600 soldiers to the site with the consent of the Kurdistan Regional Government to conduct operations against Islamic State militants. Baghdad consistently protested the foreign troop presence as an infringement on Iraqi sovereignty, while demanding the departure of foreign military forces from Iraqi territory. Although Turkey maintains multiple military outposts across northern Iraq for targeted operations, the Bashiqa-Zilkan facility is the installation situated deepest inside Iraqi territory and furthest from the Turkish border.

Economic projects and bilateral cooperation

The agreement follows months of diplomatic meetings after Ali al-Zaidi assumed office as Iraqi prime minister in May 2026. Al-Zaidi previously traveled to Ankara in late July 2026 for formal discussions with Erdogan on border security and regional cooperation. In New York, the two leaders also agreed to accelerate implementation of the Development Road Project, an infrastructure initiative designed to connect the Persian Gulf to European markets via Iraqi rail, road, and port networks. Bilateral discussions between the two governments also encompass shared water management policies for the Tigris and Euphrates rivers as well as joint energy transport through cross-border oil pipelines.