Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki said on Tuesday that his government would send a high-level political and security team to Turkey to discuss the border tensions between the two nations.
"The Iraqi government will send a high-level political and security delegation to Turkey to hold talks over the recent security developments on the borders between the two countries," Maliki said in a statement issued by his office.
Maliki's decision came after an emergency meeting of a "crisis cell," which has just been established by the Iraqi government to monitor developments along the Turkish border.
Maliki will also contact his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, by telephone to find a peaceful solution for the crisis as soon as possible, the statement said.
Earlier in the day, Maliki's spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh said the government called for urgent negotiations to avoid a possible cross-border military action by Turkey into northern Iraq to fight against the banned Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK).
In an earlier statement, Maliki's office said the Iraqi government "will not accept the military solutions to be the way of dealing with issues between the two countries even though we realize and understand the concerns of our Turkish friends."
It added that Maliki is keen to prevent PKK militants' attacks against Turkey by activating bilateral agreements and finding new horizons for security cooperation that may serve stability.
Meanwhile, Iraq's Vice-President Tariq al-Hashimi left for Turkey earlier in the day to discuss with Erdogan Turkey's possible military operations into Iraq to fight against the PKK.
Source: Xinhua
|
Comment
Tell A Friend
Print Format
Save Article