Iraqi Kurdistan

Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani on July 2 called President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to congratulate him and his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) for the election victory. 

Iraq is still in talks with Turkey and Kurdish regional authorities to resume Kirkuk oil exports through the Ceyhan port, Iraqi Oil Minister Jabar al-Luaibi told state-run newspaper al-Sabah on July 2.

Prime Minister of Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) Nechirvan Barzani on June 26 congratulated Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on his election win, expressing the desire to improve ties.

"We congratulate you, your party...," Barzani said, in a message he sent to Erdoğan, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

Turkey should be in constant cooperation with Iran in the fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) but Tehran is in a "de-escalation" process with the group's affiliate Free Life of Kurdistan (PJAK) at the moment, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said on June 22.

Turkey is in contact with Iran about conducting a military operation against outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants in the northern Iraqi region of Kandil by the Iranian border, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşolu said on June 13. 

The Sulaymaniyah-based Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) vowed on May 29 to lodge a legal appeal against a parliamentary decision to cancel all ballots cast overseas in Iraq's May 12 parliamentary election.

Turkish and U.S. officials on May 25 agreed on a "roadmap" for further cooperation to ensure the security of a Kurdish-held city which became a major headache between the NATO allies, according to a joint statement.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said on May 26 it condemned as a "double standard" a decision by Germany to allow a rally by the Kurdish issue-focused Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) in Cologne, having previously prevented ruling party politicians from campaigning there.

There were clashes between refugees at the Skaramangas hotspot near Athens early on Tuesday morning.

According to police reports, Syrian and Kurdish refugees started fighting at around 3 a.m. for unknown reasons.

One Kurdish man was injured, while a Syrian man was arrested. 

The semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq, which voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence last year in a referendum rejected by Baghdad, will hold an election on Sept. 30.