Turkey -Iraq Understanding Needed On Kurdish Issue
News agencies have reported that Baghdad is "absolutely determined" to end the
presence of Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri
al-Maliki told his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the telephone
Wednesday, the Anatolia news agency reported.
Maliki said his government "is absolutely determined to end the activities and
the presence of the PKK terrorist organisation on Iraqi territory," the
semi-official agency said, quoting unidentified sources. He said he had given
orders to the autonomous Kurdish administration in northern Iraq to take action
against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), listed as a terrorist group by
Ankara and much of the international community, Anatolia reported. Maliki asked
for "a new opportunity" to resolve the issue through diplomatic means and
proposed talks, according to Anatolia. Erdogan responded that he was willing to
meet Iraqi officials to discuss the issue, but warned that Ankara cannot
tolerate "further waste of time," the agency reported.On Tuesday, Maliki held
an emergency cabinet meeting and decided to send a high-level delegation to
Ankara for talks. Turkey says the PKK enjoys free movement in northern Iraq, is
tolerated by the region's Kurdish leaders and obtains weapons and explosives
there for attacks across the border in Turkey. Faced with mounting PKK
violence, the Ankara government says it is left with no choice but military
action because neither Washington nor Baghdad are helping curb the rebels.
Meantime Turkish Parliament has authorized the government the right of hot
pursuit to Turkish troops into Iraq to take on the Kurdish insurgents. We feel
that it is not the time for Turkey to enter Iraqi territory without Iraqi
consent which will not solve any problem, it will complicate the situation
further. It is against international law to do so unilaterally. We request the
Turkish government to work out a plan along with Iraqi authorities
