Zebari, Arab Iraq's
FM, Pledges to Cooperate with the Terrorist State of Turkey
Kurdistan parliament
meets to debate Turkish measures
Sulaimani, Oct 23, (VOI) – The Iraqi Kurdistan parliament will meet on Wednesday
to debate the Turkish parliament's decision sanctioning Turkish forces to push
deep into the Iraqi autonomous region's territories to hunt down gunmen of the
Kurdistan Workers Party (PPK), Kurdish legislator Suzan Shihab told the
independent news agency Voices of Iraq (VOI).
The Kurdish parliament is composed of 111 members mostly in two blocs: the Green
Bloc of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and
the Yellow Bloc of Kurdistan Region Massoud Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party
(KDP), in addition to other blocs.
Iraqi Foreign Minister
Hoshyar Zibari said his government, in association with the Turkish government,
was determined to deal with the issue of "terrorism" posing against Iraq.
"Iraq would take whatever measures necessary to stop the activities of the PKK.
The military option would be the final measure in this respect," Zibari said in
a joint press conference held in Baghdad on Tuesday with his Turkish counterpart
Ali Babacan, who earlier arrived in Iraq.
"The two sides discussed during a frank and clear session of talks all aspects
of bilateral relations between the two neighboring countries," Zibari said,
adding his government did not receive a list of wanted Iraqis on charges of
backing the PKK.
"We only received a
list of wanted PKK fighters," Zibari, a Kurd, noted.
The Turkish government had offered a week ago several demands by a U.S.
go-between delegation including what it called "Kurdish officials accused of
backing the PKK."
Zibari termed as
"serious and complicated" the current crisis between Iraq and Turkey.
"We hope that matters would not reach the military option stage. We don't want
to have yet another circle of violence in northern Iraq," Zibari said.
The Turkish foreign minister, for his part, affirmed that the (central) Iraqi
government was the one his country is dealing with to defuse the crisis.
"The Turkish government's only interlocutor is the Iraqi government," Babacan
said.
Ankara had rejected having a dialogue with the government Iraqi Kurdistan
region, asserting that a dialogue should be exclusively with the Iraqi and U.S.
sides.
Commenting on the PKK's announced unilateral cease-fire, Babacan said "a
cease-fire has to be between two states, not between a state and a terrorist
organization. We have a serious issue here – one of terrorism – so we have to be
careful about the wording Babacan said his country was not ready to lose ties
with neighboring Iraq for the sake of a "terrorist" group, noting "we expect our
neighbors to help us combat terrorism."
"During the Iraq neighbors' interior ministers conference, to be held in Kuwait
on Tuesday and attended by Turkey's interior minister, will discuss all issues
including the next Ankara conference of Iraq's neighboring countries," Babacan
said.
Zibari said the Iraqi government would never allow any group, including the PKK,
to "poison" bilateral relations with Turkey.
"We stressed (during the talks) the importance of jointly combating terrorism,"
Zibari said, adding he agreed with the Turkish foreign minister on the need to
"take practical steps to deal with the crisis in a wise way."
Zibari emphasized the Iraqi government's determination to cooperate with the
Turkish government to work out a solution to the border problem and "the
terrorism that threatens Turkey but through direct dialogue."
Babacan is paying a visit to Iraq to meet with top Iraqi officials for talks on
the crisis between the two sides after Turkey threatened to attack northern Iraq
to hunt down gunmen of the outlawed PKK, an informed source said.
"Babacan was received in Baghdad by Zibari," the source told VOI.
Babacan is expected to
have talks with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and President Talabani in
an effort to broker a settlement for the differences between the two neighboring
countries.
Talabani had said a couple of days ago that the Turkish top diplomat would visit
Iraq on Tuesday.
Iraq and the United States are working hard to avoid a possible Turkish
incursion into northern Iraqi to hunt down PKK fighters after recent military
clashes on the Turkish side of the joint borders.
Twelve Turkish soldiers were killed and 16 others wounded while 32 PKK fighters
were killed and several others captured in confrontations that broke out two
days ago.
"UN Security Council resolution 1546 on Iraq after the invasion that the United
States has to stand up against any assault or attack that might be waged on
Iraq," Mahmoud Othman, a member of the KC, the second largest bloc in the Iraqi
parliament with 55 out of a total 275 seats, told VOI.
"The U.S. must be aware of the magnitude of threats posing on a daily basis
against the territories of Iraqi Kurdistan Region," said Othman, accusing the
Turkish government of trying to throw a monkey wrench into the democratic
experiment of the Kurdistan region.
"If Turkey is really keen on fighting PKK members, why shouldn't it fight them
on its lands now that there is an intensive presence of PKK inside Turkey,"
wondered Othman.
Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Barzani said the Kurdish forces would never be
party to a conflict between Turkey and the PKK.
"However, if the conflict directly entangled us or the Kurdistan Region, we will
definitely defend ourselves," Barzani said in a joint press conference with
Talabani in the resort of Salah al-Din, Arbil province, the headquarters of the
autonomous Kurdish government.
Barzani appealed to Turkey to resort to the language of dialogue as a means of
resolving pending issues between the two sides.
"If Turkey resorted to dialogue, we would do whatever we can to reach a peaceful
solution with it and in the meantime come up with a reasonable solution for the
PKK issue in a tranquil atmosphere," the Kurdish leader said.
Asked whether the Iraqi Kurdish leaders were ready to consider the PKK as a
"terrorist" organization, Barzani replied that if Turkey "offered a peaceful
resolution and the PKK rejected it then, we would certainly consider the PKK as
a terrorist organization."
Talabani said during the news conference that he is scheduled to meet the
Turkish foreign minister on Tuesday to discuss with him "means to have
appeasement on the Iraqi-Turkish borders."
"We would say that we don't want or wish a war with Turkey. This is our
position," he said, terming as "unjustifiable escalations" the unrest on the
joint borders.
Talabani rejected Turkish demands to hand over leaders of the PKK and other
Kurdish leaders.
"The PKK leaders are in mountainous areas we are unable to reach. As far as
other Kurdish leaders, we will never hand over any Kurdish man come what may.
This is a dream that will never come true," Talabani stressed.
