Baghdad  - Iraq's senior Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani met with a high-profile Turkish delegation on Tuesday in Baghdad, the first direct talks between the two sides in four years.

During the meeting at Barzani's house in Baghdad, the two sides discussed bilateral relations and ways to stabilize them, the website of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan reported.

The delegation, headed by Turkey's special envoy for Iraq Murat Ozcelik, also discussed with Barzani the developments of conflicts that take place on the Kurdish-Turkish borders.

Iraqi Kurds have their own forces and are largely responsible for security in the northern areas of Iraq where the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) operates.

The PKK is considered a terrorist group by the United States and the European Union, and has been fighting for independence since 1984.

Turkey blames the separatist group for the deaths of thousands of people since the early 1980s. (dpa)