24/02/2010 | Frente Externo
Uneven Tracks for Iraq's Regional Reintegration
On Feb. 16, following decades of disruption, Turkey and Iraq restored a rail link running from the northern Iraqi city of Mosul to Gaziantep in southern Turkey, via Syria. The move is a concrete illustration of Turkey's increased efforts to develop commercial ties with Iraq, initiatives that Ankara has in turn used to establish a platform upon which it can deepen its diplomatic role and limit destabilizing spillover effects from its volatile neighbor. The strategy has paid off, as demonstrated by the recent visits to Ankara of a host of Iraqi political players -- including 'Ammar al-Hakim, Humam Hammoudi and Osama al-Tikriti -- in the weeks preceding Iraq's upcoming national parliamentary elections.
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