The Iraqi mission in Turkey includes a defense attaché and commerce office in Ankara, and a general consulate in Istanbul.

Despite the fact that Turkey-Iraq relations have different epochs in history, the two nations are interconnected by various cultural similarities, since Iraqis, along with Syrians, Lebanese, and Egyptians, have traces of Turkish ancestry owing to the chronology with the Ottoman Empire.

The 16th article of the armistice says that Ottoman armies in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, and Hejaz should immediately surrender to Allies.

Moreover, Mosul was occupied by British forces 16 days after the armistice (15 November 1918) which is an illegal action according to international law.

The future of the territories inhabited by an Arab majority at the time of the signing of the Armistice of Mudros will be determined by a referendum.

The third article of Lausanne treaty was that the frontier between Turkey and Iraq would be laid down in friendly arrangement to be concluded within nine months.

In December 1925, the Mosul province was awarded to Iraq, leaving the League of Nations open to the accusation that it was little more than the plaything of the British and French governments.

[9] By 1923, Turkey had also consolidated its independence, expelling foreign powers from its vastly reduced territory, but maintaining positive relations with Western world for trade and developmental purposes.

[3]: 368  In other words, it was a way of ensuring that neither Iran nor Iraq would give any sustenance to Kurdish rebels on Turkish territory or vice versa.

This league was founded in order to provide a forum for Arab states, and leaving the door open for a possible future federation.

Different foci in their extended foreign relations, however, did not preclude Iraq and Turkey from cooperating in common areas of interest.

This experiment ended when Iraq found itself with a new military government and withdrew from the agreement on 14 July 1958, one day before the Baghdad Pact summit in Turkey.

After the coup d'état, Turkish foreign policy shifted into a new era, which is not strictly pro-Western and is extremely dominated by NATO.

Although the drought affected Turkey, Syria, and Iran as well, Iraq complained regularly about reduced water flows.

Turkey agreed to increase the flow several times, beyond their means, in order to supply Iraq with extra water.

Turkey, Iraq, and Syria signed a memorandum of understanding on 3 September 2009 in order to strengthen communication within the Tigris–Euphrates Basin and develop joint water flow monitoring stations.

In exchange, Iraq agreed to trade petroleum with Turkey and help curb terrorist activity in their border region.

[15] The establishment of military-backed regimes in Turkey and Iraq by 1980 helped strengthen relations on several core issues, as both governments supported secularist and anti-radical policies, stable borders, and closer ties with the West, needed by Iraq for its conflict with Iran and by Turkey in its desire to join the European Union.

Kurdish forces captured Kirkuk on 19 March 1991 but Republican Guards of Iraq re-captured the city and hundreds of thousands of Kurds escaped to the Iranian and Turkish borders as relatively safe places.

The 'Border Security and Cooperation Treaty' was signed between Turkey and Iraq in February 1983 and the first military operation was made in the same year by the Turkish Armed Forces.

Such a decision of Turkish parliament was seen as both a reaction against the unilateral action of USA in the Middle East and the desire to keep Turkey away from the Iraq war.

After 2003, political maps of the Greater Kurdistan, covering Turkish lands, were seen on the walls of state buildings of KRG.

It also includes opening two liaison offices between Baghdad and Ankara to exchange intelligence and security information between the two countries.

That visit sought to strengthen ties strained in early 2008 by attacks launched into Turkey by Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels based in remote parts of northern Iraq.

[32] Following a 3 April 2009 speech entitled Global Economic Crisis and Turkey, given to the Chatham House Royal Institute of Foreign Affairs on the sidelines of the G20 meeting in London, Turkish Prime Minister Erdoğan said in response to questions on relations with Iraq that "we defend establishment of an Iraqi state on the basis of Iraq nationality.

Jalal Talabani attended the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul and suggested a general amnesty for the PKK militants as a solution to the Turkish Kurdish conflict.

[12] On 1 May 2009, Ankara paid host to a surprise visit from Iraqi Mahdi Army leader Muqtada al-Sadr who, in his first public appearance for two years, met with Turkish President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Erdoğan for talks which focused on the "political process",[34] and requested Turkey play a greater role in establishing stability in the Middle East.

Spokesman Sheikh Salah al-Obeidi confirmed the nature of the talks that had been requested by Al-Sadr and stated that "Turkey is a good, old friend.

US State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Richard Schmierer later indicated Washington's support for Turkish engagement with al-Sadr and its involvement in Iraq in general.

The world must unite to avert a catastrophe, promote political resolution to the rights of all Syrians, including Kurds, to peace, dignity and security".