Turning Enemies into Friends:Change in Turkey's Relations with KRG: How Iraqi Kurds become Turkey's best ally in the ME

“The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend.” said Abraham Lincoln, 16th President of the United States and one of the remarkable statesmen of 19th century. His principle is still useful to understand today’s international politics. Turkey and Iraqi Kurds are able to overcome decades-old hostility and establish a reliable alliance. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who in 2007 offended Iraqi Kurdish leader Mesud Barzani as a ‘tribal leader’ hugged him four years later when he was the first Turkish PM to pay an official visit to KRG’s capital. This book attempts to explore the reasons lying behind the rapprochement and analyze the 180-degree change in bilateral relations from a political and economic point of view.