President of the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government Masoud Barzani greets with Kurdish people in Diyarbakir, Turkey, Nov. 16, 2013. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan held talks here with the visiting Iraqi Kurdish leader in a bid to boost the ongoing settlement process which aims to end the decades long Kurdish conflict in Diyarbakir. (Xinhua/Mustafa Kaya)
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News Analysis: Turkey pins hope on Iraq Kurdish leader's visit to gain clout
ANKARA, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday received visiting leader of Iraq's Kurdish autonomous authority, Massoud Barzani, for the first time in two decades, leading analysts to say that Ankara has rolled out new policies to respond to regional and domestic challenges.
"One of the most noteworthy outcomes of the visit is that the alliance, which has been shaping for a while between Erdogan and Barzani, will be elevated to a strategic level in the Middle East power equation," Turkish analyst Sedat Ergin said. Full story
Iraq's Kurdish leader vows support for Turkey's peace effort with PKK
ANKARA, Nov. 16 (Xinhua) -- Iraq's Kurdish leader on Saturday pledged here support for Turkey's peace process with the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK), an outlawed group that only entered ceasefire with Ankara after 30 years of conflicts.
"Long live the brotherhood of Turks and Kurds," Massoud Barzani, leader of northern Iraq's Kurdish autonomous government, told thousands of ethnic Kurds in Turkey's southeastern Diyarbakir province. Full story
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President of the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government Masoud Barzani attend a ribbon cutting ceremony in Diyarbakir, Turkey, Nov. 16, 2013. Erdogan held talks here with the visiting Iraqi Kurdish leader in a bid to boost the ongoing settlement process which aims to end the decades long Kurdish conflict in Diyarbakir. (Xinhua/Mustafa Kaya)
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) visits southeastern province of Diyarbakir in a bid to boost the ongoing settlement process, which aims to end the decades-old Kurdish conflict, on Nov. 16, 2013. (Xinhua/Mustafa Kaya)
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) greets the locals during his visit to southeastern province of Diyarbakir in a bid to boost the ongoing settlement process, which aims to end the decades-old Kurdish conflict, on Nov. 16, 2013. (Xinhua/Mustafa Kaya)