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Hoshyar Zebari, Iraqi foreign minister
visits Turkey
3.7.2006
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ANKARA, July 2, -
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari has arrived in
Turkey for a working visit to discuss bilateral ties
and the situation in his country, the Anatolia news
agency reported.
Zebari, on his first visit to Turkey since the
completion of the Iraqi government in June, was
scheduled to meet his Turkish counterpart Abdullah
Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and
President Ahmet Necdet Sezer on Monday.
He will also travel to Istanbul to re-open the Iraqi
consulate there.
Turkey has been following the mounting sectarian
violence in its southeastern neighbour with growing
concern, seeing it as a possible threat to Iraq's
integrity. |
Hoshyar Zebari, Iraqi foreign minister |
Ankara fears the instability may lead to the
country's break-up and the secession of Kurds in the
north which, in turn, could fuel unrest across the
border among the restive Kurdish minority inside
adjoining southeastern Turkey.
Another issue of concern for Ankara is the presence
in northern Iraq of thousands of armed Kurdish
rebels who infiltrate Turkey to engage in
anti-government violence.
Turkey has long been frustrated by United States and
Iraqi reluctance to crack down on rebels of the
banned Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) hiding in
mountains of Kurdistan (northern Iraq).
The Turkish media have often accused Iraqi Kurds
controlling the region of turning a blind eye to the
PKK presence on their territory.
In May, the US ambassador to Turkey, Ross Wilson,
announced that the US had started talks with the new
Iraqi government on "effective" action against PKK
rebels.
More than 37,000 people have been killed since 1984
when the PKK took up arms for Kurdish self-rule in
Turkey's southeast.
AFP
Southeastern Turkey:
North Kurdistan (
Kurdistan-Turkey) wikipedia
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