Nechirvan Barzani to Mend Fences with Turkey, but Retain Claim Over Kirkuk

ANKARA, Oct 24 (AFP)  A prominent Iraqi Kurdish leader assured Turkey on Thursday that Kurds who control northern Iraq are not seeking independence, but he renewed claims to the oil-rich region of Kirkuk, which is currently under Baghdad's control.

"Our aim is not to set up an independent government or entity. We would like to resolve the problem within a united and democratic Iraq," Nechirvan Barzani told reporters after fence-mending talks with Turkish diplomats.

Barzani is a senior member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), led by his uncle Massoud Barzani.

The KDP and its erstwhile rival, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), have been running northern Iraq since the 1991 Gulf War thanks to a US-enforced no-fly zone which has kept Baghdad's forces out of area.

Turkey, a close Muslim ally of the United States, has accused Iraqi Kurds of plotting to set up an independent state if the US attacks Iraq and has threatened military action to prevent such a development.

Turkey, which already has troops in northern Iraq, fears that the setting up of a Kurdish state in the region could set an example for its own Kurdish minority.

The KDP and the PUK recently buried differences and drafted a constitution for a future Iraqi federation made up of an Arab and a Kurdish region, the latter to have Kirkuk as its capital.

Barzani said the draft was only "a proposal, a project" that would be debated with other Iraqi opposition groups.

"It is not a final decision," he said.

Still he underlined that "from a geographical point of view, of course, Kirkuk is known to be within the region known as Iraqi Kurdistan."

He added: "The wealth of Kirkuk, we strongly believe, is the wealth of the Iraqi people and all Iraqis... all should enjoy the wealth of the region."

Turkey worries that Kurdish control of oil resources would make an independent Kurdish state in the mountainous and landlocked area a viable option.

Nationalist Turkish politicians have suggested Turkey should seize control of Kirkuk and Mosul to prevent the Kurds from taking them over.

Barzani praised Turkey as "an important regional country and a member of the coalition forces that protect our region" -- a reference to Turkey's role as a base for US and British jets patrolling the northern no-fly zone.

"We consider ourselves as a friend and ally of Turkey and we want to maintain this positive dialogue," he said.

"During our talks, we have been able to remove many of the sensitivities and both sides have sincerely tried to put relations back on the right track," he added.

Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Yusuf Buluc said Ankara expected the Iraqi Kurds to display "consistency both in their statements and acts."

"It should be understood that raising one's rhetoric is meaningless and it will not help the advancement of the Kurdish community's interests," Buluc told reporters.