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Iraq's Kurdistan envoy says Russia could
mediate with Turkey over PKK crisis 7.11.2007
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November
7, 2007
MOSCOW, -- Russia could mediate in the
ongoing conflict between Turkey's Kurdish PKK
separatists and Turkish troops on the Iraqi
Kurdistan border, an Iraqi Kurdish envoy said on
Tuesday.
"Russia has a historically good relationship with
the Kurds, and I believe it is quite possible for
Russia to play a mediating role," Babakr Khoshavi,
the representative of Iraqi Kurdistan to the
Commonwealth of Independent States told RIA.
He said Massoud Barzani, the president of Kurdistan
autonomous region in 'north Iraq', recently wrote a
letter to the Russian leadership asking it to broker
a peace settlement.
Khoshavi warned that if Ankara decides to go ahead
with its cross-border operation, the attack will be
doomed, due to the extreme difficulty of accessing
the PKK's bases in Kurdistan 'north Iraq'.
www.ekurd.net
"Turkey has repeatedly attempted to enter the area,
but those operations invariably failed," he said.
The envoy stressed that the Kurdistan government
wants the conflict to be settled through peaceful
means, as a military operation would "continue for a
very long time, destabilizing the entire region, not
just Kurdistan but also neighboring countries."
On Monday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan and George W. Bush held talks in Washington,
at which the U.S. leader pledged to share military
intelligence with Ankara on Kurdish militants.
Prime Minister Erdogan's talks with President Bush
produced a framework of cooperation measures to
counter the rebels.
The U.S. had earlier advised Turkey against a
large-scale cross-border operation against turkey's
Kurdish PKK separatists.
Speaking on Tuesday, Turkish President Abdullah Gul
stressed that Ankara has no plans to occupy Iraqi
Kurdistan.
"Our goal is to wipe out the terrorist PKK. We
respect Iraq's territorial integrity and stability.
The PKK threatens not only Turkey, but also
stability in Iraq," he said.
Turkey has amassed up to 150,000 troops in
anticipation of a major military operation, which
has been backed by parliament, against around 3,500
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels based in Iraqi
Kurdistan.
Iraqi Kurdish politician says, Turkey is using
Turkey's Kurdish separatist PKK rebel group as an
excuse to invade Kurdistan region 'Iraq' to prevent
the establishment of Kurdistan state in the Kurdish
autonomous region in 'northern Iraq', Turkey's fears
this could fan separatism among its own large
Kurdish population in southeast Turkey.
Turkey rejects direct talks with the official Iraqi
Kurdistan government on the crisis over the Turkey's
separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) rebels,
officially, Turkey does not recognise the regional
government of Kurdistan led by president Massoud
Barzani.
www.ekurd.net
Turkey has never, and still does not, recognize the
Kurdistan region government (KRG) and refuses to
meet with its representatives in any official
capacity. That reflects Ankara's fear that any
international respect shown to the autonomous Iraqi
Kurdistan region would only embolden Turkey's own
large Kurdish minority to seek similar home-rule
status.
Massoud Barzani, president of the Kurdistan regional
government that holds sway in northern Iraq,
regretted Ankara's refusal to hold direct talks on
the crisis over the Turkey's separatist Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK) rebels.
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