ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we attempt to explain how the relationship between Turkey and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has affected each partner. One can say that there has been a paradigm shift away from decades of Turkey’s mistreatment of Kurds. The official Turkish position on Iraqi Kurdistan has undergone a radical change during the last decade. In 2003 Turkey’s foreign minister stated that Turkey would intervene militarily to “guarantee Iraq’s territorial integrity” in order to prevent Kurds from breaking away or getting too much autonomy. Today, Turkey has established a cordial bilateral relationship with Iraqi Kurdistan, which contrasts sharply with the way Turkey treats Kurds in Syria and at home. As for the Iraqi Kurds, Turkey seems to have become the single most significant contributor to the idea of Iraqi Kurdistan’s independence by strengthening the region’s economy through heavy investment and trade.
