The Kurdish Question and Iranian-Turkish Relations: 1991-2015

The Kurdish question has caused ups and downs in Iran-Turkey relations. Geopolitical and geostrategic considerations of Iran and Turkey since the 1990s onwards have coupled with the economic needs of the two countries; needs that have led the two nations to geopolitical cooperation. None of the two has threatened the legitimacy and structure of the other government system by influencing the Kurdish movement in the other country. Their rivalries in the Iraqi Kurdistan and making efforts at influencing the developments in the Kurdish regions of Syria after the outbreak of the Syrian crisis, as well as ISIS attacks on Kobani brought the two sides on a collision course. This article seeks to examine Iran-Turkey relations as related to the Kurdish question between 1991 and 2015. The authors conclude that the Kurdish question has not affected their overall geopolitical and geostrategic policies.