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Kurdistan PM calls on Turkey to end
military operations
25.2.2008
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February
25, 2008
Erbil-Hewler, Kurdistan Region 'Iraq',--
Iraq's Kurdistan region Prime Minister Nechirvan
Barzani Sunday held a press conference in Erbil,
capital of the Kurdistan Region, to discuss the
ongoing Turkish military incursion in Iraq and his
recent visits to the Republic of Korea and State of
Qatar.
The Prime Minister said that he was very concerned
by the recent ground incursions by the Turkish
military in the Kurdistan Region, and called for an
immediate end to armed operations.
The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) understood
that the PKK is a problem for Turkey, condemned the
group's violent activities, and had significantly
limited the PKK's ability to act inside the region,
he added. At the same time, he stressed that only
political methods could bring an end to the decades
old problem. |
Nechirvan Barzani, Prime
Minister of
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) |
Prime Minister Barzani said, "In the 1990s Turkey,
at times with our help, tried to solve the problem
of the PKK militarily and today they are trying
again. But our experience clearly shows that
military methods cannot be successful. I am ready to
go to Ankara at any point. Four-party talks between
Washington, Istanbul, Baghdad, and Erbil will help
find a long lasting and peaceful solution to this
problem. "
Barzani condemned Turkey's targeting of civilian
infrastructure, which is far from the border areas
and has no connection with the PKK. He said,www.ekurd.net
"We believe this
demonstrates that despite its stated aims, Turkey is
targeting the Kurdistan Region itself. I am
surprised by Baghdad's weak response to this clear
violation of Iraq's sovereignty"
Turning to his recent foreign visits, the Prime
Minister said he had visited South Korea to sign two
Memoranda of Understanding - the first with a Korean
consortium led by the Korean National Oil Company (KNOC)
and concerning the oil sector and the second with
SOC Consortium, a group of leading Korean
construction companies focused on infrastructure
programmes in the Kurdistan Region.
He said, "These MOUs, which conform to the Iraqi
constitution, ensure that the people of the
Kurdistan Region will benefit from enhanced
infrastructure services as well as the expertise of
Korean companies. In my meetings with
president-elect Lee Myung-bak,www.ekurd.net
I expressed our
gratitude for the continued support of the
Government of South Korea and the special assistance
we have received from the Zaytun Division of the
Korean Army and the Korea International Cooperation
Agency (KOICA)."
The second stage of the Prime Minister's foreign
trip was to Qatar, where he met with Prime Minister
and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad Bin Jassim Al
Thani.
Barzani expressed his wish for closer ties between
the KRG and Qatar and other Gulf Arab states. At the
press conference the Prime Minister said, "There is
much scope for cooperation between the Kurdistan
Region and Qatar. We are especially interested in
strengthening our economic and investment ties and
the possibility of establishing scholarships so that
students from the Kurdistan Region can benefit from
the excellent facilities of Qatar's Education City."
krg org
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