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Iraq urges Turkey to stick to dialogue on
rebels
15.6.2007
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June
15, 2007
New York, -- Expressing concern about
Turkey's troop buildup on its border, Iraq's foreign
minister urged Ankara on Thursday to rely on
dialogue to deal with separatist Kurdish rebels
inside Iraq.
Turkey, a NATO member, has been increasingly
exasperated by Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK,
attacks and by the failure of its ally the United
States to deal with what Ankara says are about 4,000
rebels holed up in northern Iraq.
Turkey recently sent tens of thousands of troops, as
well as tanks and other military equipment, to the
border area and Baghdad sent a letter of protest
last week about what it said was intensive Turkish
shelling of areas inside Iraq.
Turkey's top generals have urged the government to
authorize an incursion into Kurdistan region
(northern Iraq).
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said in New
York that Turkey's concerns about the PKK were
legitimate but that his government had long shown
its willingness to work with Ankara on ways to stop
the rebels harming Turkish interests. |
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon, right,
greets Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari in his
offices at the U.N. headquarters, Tuesday, June 12,
2007 AP |
"This issue of the PKK can only be resolved through
dialogue," Zebari told a meeting of the Council on
Foreign Relations.
He said the dialogue should involve the Turkish and
Iraqi governments, the United States and the
regional government in the semi-autonomous Kurdish
area of northern Iraq. He said Turkey had not shown
enthusiasm for that, pushing instead for bilateral
talks with the United States on the issue.
Turkey has long viewed the northern Iraqi Kurds with
suspicion, fearing they want to set up an
independent state that Ankara fears would fuel
unrest in Turkey.
Turkey also worries that Kurds want to seize the
oil-rich Iraqi city of Kirkuk, which sits just
outside the Kurdistan region and is home to
Turkish-speaking Turkmen.
Zebari said the Turkish troop buildup and the
shelling had sparked "serious concern that this
could be a prelude to a major incursion," but so far
no such action had taken place.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan signaled on
Tuesday that Turkey should focus on battling Kurdish
guerrillas at home rather than in northern Iraq and
he has made no move to reconvene parliament to
approve any major incursion.
"(I'm) very encouraged by what the prime minister
recently stated," Zebari said.
He said while the Iraqi government condemned "all
acts of terrorism," it was struggling with its own
security problems due to the insurgency in Baghdad
and other parts of Iraq.
"We've been very honest," Zebari said. "We're
fighting in the neighborhoods of Baghdad. We can't
release Iraqi troops to the Kurdish mountains."
Reuters
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