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Iraqi PM rejects Turkish threats over incursion into
Iraqi Kurdistan region
3.6.2007
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June
3, 2007
Erbil, Kurdistan region (Iraq), -- Iraqi
Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki rejected Saturday the
Turkish threats of staging incursion into the
Kurdistan territories to fight the Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK), and called for diplomacy to
ease the tension.
"Iraqi territories must be respected, and we will
not accept any form of threats," Maliki said during
a joint news conference with Massoud Barzani, the
president of the autonomous Kurdistan region in
northern Iraq, in the regional capital of Erbil.
"If there are some problems, we should not rely on
weapons and threats, or use violence and power
because this will increase tension and deepen
problems," Maliki said at the end of his visit to
Erbil.
Maliki also rejected that his country to become a
launch pad for others to attack neighboring states.
"We will not allow that Iraq to become a
battleground and we don't want to harm neighboring
countries, so we don't want the others to enter the
Iraqi territory with a military incursion or fight
of any kind," he said. |
President of Iraq's Kurdistan autonomous region Massoud Barzani (R) speaks during a joint press
conference with Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki
at Erbil airport. AFP June 2 2007 |
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Turkey has been building up troops near the Iraqi
border in recent weeks after it accused members from
the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) of stepping up
attacks against Turkish troops from their hideouts
in Iraq.
As for long-term U.S. army presence in the country,
Maliki said this was "an issue for the Iraqi people
to decide on. We have not engaged in talks over
building permanent American military bases in Iraq."
Few days ago, U.S. President George W. Bush said
that he predicted a long-term U.S. military presence
in Iraq, similar to that in South Korea, maybe
exceeding 50 years.
Source: Xinhua
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