KurdistanObserver.com   US Forces Turkey to Meet Southern Kurdistan Officials From Turkish Zeman  Feb 8, 2007 US tells Turkey to talk to Kurds on PKK; Ankara warming to idea Turkey has signaled readiness to talk to Iraqi Kurds in order to tackle security threats stemming from presence of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq (Southern Kurdistan), something that the US has advised Ankara to do. "If it proves to be useful for the fight against the PKK, I would meet [Iraqi Kurdish leaders]," Edip Başer, Turkey's special envoy for countering the PKK was quoted as saying in an interview with private NTV television late on Wednesday. "This is not a red line for Turkey." Turkey has so far been reluctant to dialogue with the Iraqi Kurds and wants to discuss the matter with the US and the central Iraqi government. Başer said he was ready to take some criticism for his remarks and added that dialogue with the Kurds would require also a decision from higher authorities. Turkey has been pressing the US to take more active measures to deal with the PKK presence in mountain camps in northern Iraq, where a few thousand armed militants are believed to be based. Washington, already busy with insurgency in other parts of Iraq and afraid of damaging ties with Iraqi Kurds, said a military option is on the table, though not likely to come soon and advises Turkey to talk to Iraqi Kurds for anti-PKK measures. US Assistant Secretary of State Daniel Fried reiterated in an interview on a Turkish television station that the best strategy for dealing with the PKK would involve discussions with Kurdish officials in northern Iraq. "They're going to be your neighbors, and they should be your friends and partners," Fried said, according to a transcript of his interview with private CNN Türk television provided by the State Department. Iraqi Kurds, who in the past fought against the PKK alongside Turkish troops in Iraq, are now openly urging Turkey to consider a political solution and accuse Turkey of interfering in Iraq's internal affairs. Turkey, increasingly frustrated over US inaction in the fight against the PKK, has warned that it could take the matters into its own hands and conduct a cross-border operation in northern Iraq against the PKK bases there. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül, on a visit to the US, said after a meeting with US Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice on Tuesday that Turkey could resort to military action against the PKK and hinted that the idea had not been opposed by the US officials he had met. But Fried was cautious: "I think there are serious risks if Turkey moves in, and I hope that we're able to work with Kurds so this choice can be avoided," he said in the interview broadcasted on Wednesday.       Copyright © 2002, Kurdistan Observer