Turkish, Iranian cooperation against PKK irks US and Iraq
Monday , 11 June 2007
Turkish, Iranian cooperation against PKK irks Iraq and US
News that Iranian and Turkish forces are shelling the PKK hideouts in northern Iraq from their own territories apparently in a coordinated manner has created deep discomfort in Baghdad, Erbil and Washington prompting the Iraqi government to hand a diplomatic note to Turkey calling "to act together" against the militants.
Turkey's charge d'affair in Baghdad Ahmet Yzal was invited to the Iraqi Foreign Ministry on Saturday where he was handed the note.
Turkish diplomatic sources stressed that this was not a protest note and that it was aimed to call for cooperation.
Foreign news agencies, however, said Baghdad had protested Turkey for shelling border regions. A statement by the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammed al-Haj Mahmoud called for an immediate halt to the shelling, saying such actions "undermine confidence between the two nations and negatively affect their friendship."
The statement was the first government confirmation of the shelling.
Mahmoud said the shelling had started large fires and caused serious damage, but gave no other details.
The note said the recent security measures Turkey is taking in the border regions is causing scare among the people of the region on the Iraqi side and requested a concerted effort to prevent any harm to the locals.
Turkey has been building up its forces along the border with Iraq, and its leaders are debating whether to stage a major incursion to pursue separatist Kurdish militants who cross over to attack Turkish targets.
Baghdad ready for talks
Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari told the BBC his government is ready to discuss with Turkey how to deal with the PKK separatists.
He was speaking after Iraq presented its diplomatic note to Turkey.
Zebari told the BBC's Arabic Service that Iraq was ready to talk about the activities of the PKK in northern Iraq, and other matters of concern to Turkey.
"We are open to dealing with these positively," he said, "but not via an intensive and large-scale bombardment of border areas."
"We are against any military interventions or violations of borders or the regional security, and all issues are negotiable and can be resolved through dialogue," Zebari added.
Observers said the Iraqi protest letter is clearly aimed at keeping the rising tension as an affair to be dealt with between the two states and not between Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds.
Rice warns
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Turkey risks increasing regional tensions by moving troops into Iraq against Kurdish terrorists. She added it would be "not good for Iraq and not good for Turkey."
The statement by Rice, speaking to a panel of journalists and editors from The Associated Press, suggested that Washington could do little to halt limited Turkish incursions across the rugged frontier against the PKK.
Rice said it's "not good for anybody for a robust move across the border."
Turkey, Iran shelling
The warning came as Turkish and Iranian forces reportedly shelled positions across the border in northern Iraq
Iraqi Kurdish sources have claimed Turkey and Iran have been shelling border areas.
Military observers say Turkish artillery positions are too far away from the Kurdish region where the PKK is holed out and thus the shelling may not be from Turkey but from Iran.
Iran has clashed with Iranian Kurdish militants who have bases in remote, mountainous areas of northern Iraq.
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has claimed in its web-site on Friday that artillery shells overnight hit some areas in the Sidikan area in Irbil Province, where the borders of Turkey, Iran and Iraq converge, and that nine villages were affected.
"Huge damage was inflicted on the area," the PUK said, citing what it described as an unidentified "source" in the area. "The source said residents have left their houses, fearing for their lives." Lieutenant Ahmad Karim of the Iraqi border guards force told The Associated Press that seven Turkish shells landed on a forest near Sakta village in the Batous area, but no casualties were reported.
Turkish and Iranian officials have reportedly agreed to fight the Kurdish separatists. The Iranians have promised Turkey to cut the escape routes of the PKK terrorists and prevent them from escaping back to their hideouts in northern Iraq.
Meanwhile, in a related development Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul and Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Ergin Saygun met in Ankara and discussed recent developments about Iraq.
Ambassador Oguz Celikkol, Turkey's Special Envoy in Iraq, also attended the meeting at the Foreign Ministry.
The meeting focused on Kirkuk and the future of Iraq.
Turkish, Iranian cooperation against PKK irks US and Iraq
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