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Turkish FM reiterates uneasiness over PKK presence in northern Iraq |
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08:16, July 07, 2007 |
Turkish Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul on Friday reiterated his country's uneasiness over the utilization of northern Iraq by the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK).
Turkey expected "the unfavorable situation" in northern Iraq to be stopped by the United States and Kurdish groups there, Gul said at a live program on the private NTV channel.
While commenting on a possible cross-border operation against the PKK based in northern Iraq, Gul noted that all details regarding the operation "from the worst case scenario to best scenario" had already been determined.
He indicated that the government and Turkish General Staff jointly decided "what to do and when to do it."
Meanwhile, he also reiterated that Ankara "had no ill- intentions over Iraqi soil."
Answering a question on the timing of a possible motion for an operation into northern Iraq, Gul said, "these are matters to be decided quickly, everything can happen in one day."
Upon a question as to when the Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al- Maliki, whose visit was expected to take place towards the end of June, would visit Ankara, Gul said that al-Maliki had happily accepted the invitation but the time of the visit was yet uncertain.
Gul implied that al-Maliki's visit could take place after the general elections in Turkey to be held on July 22.
The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, increased its attacks on Turkish forces in recent months, leading to Turkey's demand for cross-border chase into Iraqi territories.
The PKK launched an armed campaign for an ethnic homeland in the mainly Kurdish southeastern Turkey in 1984, sparking decades of strife that has claimed more than 30,000 lives.
Source: Xinhua
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