KurdistanObserver.com

Tarik Tinazay - (AFP)

US, Turkey Review Touchy Iraq, Mideast Issues

ANKARA (AFP) - Jan 3, 2005- US Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage and Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul reviewed touchy regional issues that have led to coolness between the two countries, including Iraq and the Middle East.

But Gul said ties between the two NATO allies, described by both parties as a "strategic partnership", would remain intact despite the chill.

"Turkish-US relations are above everything. We attach great importance to our relations. Our talks, I am sure, will confirm this," he told reporters.

One of the several reasons for recent coolness in ties between Ankara and Washington is the presence in northern Iraq of an estimated 5,000 armed militants of the PKK, held responsible by Ankara for a 15-year civil conflict that claimed more than 30,000 lives in southeast Turkey between 1984 and 1999.

Armitage reiterated that US, Turkish and Iraqi officials will hold three-way talks to discuss the PKK -- acronym of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, which is also known as KONGRA-GEL -- whose activities Ankara wants US forces in Iraq to curb.

The US official was speaking to reporters after he and Gul held what one Turkish diplomat described as "comprehensive talks ... mostly on Iraq."

Another bone of contention is Ankara's unhappiness with the expulsion from oil-rich Kirkuk of Turkish-speaking Iraqi Turkmens by the Kurds, who in turn were expelled from the area by Arabs under Saddam Hussein.

"There have been many segments of Iraqi society who have had their situation changed by force," Armitage told reporters. "The Turkmens are of course in this category and the Kurds themselves have been forced out, of particularly Kirkuk, to some degree.

"These are things that have to be corrected in the transitional administrational law ... to redress these wrongs for all those who are dispossessed," he said.

Turkey fears that Kurdish control of the Kirkuk oil fields -- among the richest in Iraq -- could encourage Iraqi Kurds to break away from Baghdad, fanning separatist sentiment among Kurds in neighboring southeast Turkey and trigger new turmoil in the region.

"We stressed our concern over Kirkuk," said the Turkish diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity. "We explained that we had serious concerns over efforts to change the demographic structure and said that this could lead to serious problems."

He said Armitage assured Gul he was discussing the matter with Massud Barzani and Jalal Talabani, allies of the US and leaders of the two mainstream Kurdish parties in northern Iraq, which borders Turkey.

The troubled electoral process in Iraq also came up, the Turkish source said, with Gul stressing "the need to hold the election in the soundest manner and with as much participation as possible."

The Turkish warning came amid a backdrop of growing indications that Sunni Arabs, which comprise about 20 percent of the Iraqi population, will either boycott the January 30 polls or will be prevented from taking part in it due to a spreading insurgency.

"We very much wish the elections to be held on time. We believe it is very important for Sunni Arabs to take part in the polls. We believe that would be very important for Iraq's integrity," Gul said after his talks with Armitage.

"We hope the elections will kick off the political process in Iraq, which in turn may pave the way for the withdrawal of foreign troops from Iraq," he added.

Armitage's talks with Gul came just hours before the Turkish minister left Ankara on a fence-mending visit to Israel and the Palestinian territories.

Armitage said he stressed "the window of opportunity that exists with the upcoming January 9 Palestinian election.

"We think that the new Palestinian leadership should be supportive of the revived peace process and make sure that no one resorts to political violence," Armitage said. "Our policy remains that of a search for a comprehensive solution."