Turkey and Iraq signed an agreement to fight against terrorism in the Turkish capital of Ankara on Friday.
Turkish Interior Minister Besir Atalay and his Iraqi counterpart Jawad al-Bulani signed the agreement aimed at cracking down on separatist rebels of the banned Kurdish Workers' Party ( PKK) who have been attacking Turkey from bases in northern Iraq.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Atalay said the two countries will maintain negotiations as now "it was not possible to reach a deal on an article about strengthening of security and cooperation in border regions and advancement of measures against terrorist organizations in border regions."
"We believe that the Iraqi government's positive perspective and will on cooperation in fight against terrorism will contribute to measures that hinder activities of the terrorist organization PKK which is particularly carrying out its activities in north of Iraq," said Atalay, adding that national efforts are not sufficient enough to combat terrorism.
According to Atalay, he discussed with al-Bulani the ways to hinder activities of the terrorist organizations, particularly the PKK, join force in fight against terrorism, train Iraqi security forces and extend technical assistance between the two interior ministries.
Atalay said "in order to hinder activities of the terrorist organizations, particularly the PKK, the two countries pledged to prevent the use of their territories by terrorist groups for accommodation, training, planning and propaganda and for staging terrorist attacks on the other country."
For his part, al-Bulani said that the Iraqi government has been trying to enhance cooperation with its neighbors, adding that a multilateral fight is required against terrorism which is a problem upsetting all countries and societies in the world.
There are several terrorist groups in Iraq, many of which are not of Iraqi origin, including the PKK, al-Bulani said, noting that the governments should work together to put an end to heinous attacks on security forces and civilians.
The pact, however, falls short of meeting Ankara's demand to send troops in pursuit of PKK rebels fleeing across the border into northern Iraq, private NTV television said.
Ankara has threatened military incursion into northern Iraq to strike the PKK base if Baghdad and Washington fail to curb the terrorists, who notably stepped up their attacks inside Turkey this year.
The PKK has increased attacks on Turkish troops in southeastern Turkey, which led to rising Turkish demands for an incursion into northern Iraq to crush the rebels based there.
The group, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, 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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