A high-level Iraqi delegation arrived in Ankara on Thursday to
discuss steps Turkey and Iraq can take to ease tension along their
borders and eradicate presence of the Kurdish Workers' Party's
(PKK) in Iraq.
The delegation is led by Iraqi Defense Minister Abdul Qadir
al-Ubaidi and Security Minister Shirwan al-Waili, Iraqi Kurdistan
Democratic Party (KDP) representative Safeen Dizayee and Ministry
of Interior Affairs Under Secretary Aydin Khalit, Turkey's
semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.
Last-ditch diplomatic effort
The delegation comes in a last ditch attempt by the Iraqi side
to assure Turkey that it is ready to clamp down on the activities
of the PKK in northern Iraq as promised by the Iraqi leaders.
Ali Babacan, Turkey's foreign minister, said on Wednesday during
his tour of Iraq that the visit by the Iraqi delegation "would have
no meaning" unless they are able to "come up with concrete
proposals."
Iraq already has promised to shut down offices used by rebel
bases. But Turkey has been suspicious of how far the Iraqi
government would go in fulfilling their promises and how much they
can do given the little sway they hold over the autonomous Kurdish
north.
Gul: Turkey running out of patience
Before the arrival of the delegation, Turkish President Abdullah
Gul said on Thursday morning that Ankara is running out of patience
and will not tolerate the use of Iraqi soil for the purpose of
launching terrorist activities.
"We are totally determined to take all necessary steps to end
this threat ... Despite our respect for Iraq's territorial
integrity, Iraq should not be a source of threat for its
neighbors," Gul said in a speech opening the meeting of Foreign
Ministers Council of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic
Cooperation (BSEC) in Ankara.
Turkish security sources have confirmed a series of operations
by warplanes and ground troops since Sunday into Iraqi territory,
although Ankara has said it still hopes diplomacy can stave off the
need for a full-scale ground invasion.
Turkey's warplanes flew 30 km into Iraq on Tuesday night and the
counter-terrorism operations backed by helicopters and warplanes
have been under way in southeast of the country, said Turkey's
semi-official Anatolia news agency, adding during the operations, a
number of shelters belonged to Kurdish rebels were found and
destroyed.
On Wednesday, Anatolia reported that Turkish armed aircrafts
attacked targets of the outlawed PKK along the borders with
northern Iraq in the day.
Shelling by Turkish artillery of the Iraqi side of the border
continued on Thursday, according to CNN Turk.
Turkish security officials said Thursday that government troops
with tanks and artillery have repulsed an attack by a group of PKK
militants near the Iraqi border.
Up to 40 attackers targeted Turkish gendarmes, or paramilitary
polices, at a military post in the mountainous Hakkari province
near the border late on Wednesday, said the officials, adding the
militants withdrew back into northern Iraq after heavy clashes. The
officials gave no more details about casualties.
Ankara has massed up to 100,000 troops along the mountainous
border in preparation for a possible cross-border operation to
crush the about 3,000 strong PKK rebels, which was approved by the
parliament earlier this month.
On Wednesday, Turkey's National Security Council, an advisory
body of military and civilian leaders, called on the government to
implement "immediate" economic sanctions against northern Iraq,
including closing border crossings and halting exports of
electricity, according to local media.
Turkish diplomacy goes on
For all the warplane attacks and shellings, Ankara was still
holding back from any major strike for now, saying it was still
hoping for a diplomatic solution to the crisis.
Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who is in an
official visit to Romania after his tour of Britain, urged the
United States on Thursday to take action along with Turkey in the
struggle against the PKK based in northern Iraq, noting that the
United States had taken action against Iraq with less immediate
provocation.
As a "strategic ally", the US government is obliged to help
Turkey battle PKK fighters, just as Turkey sent troops to help the
US combat terrorism in Afghanistan, Erdogan said in televised
comments in Bucharest, according to local media.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will hold talks with
Erdogan and Gul in Ankara on November 1 to discuss measures to
tackle PKK militants in Iraq before attending a conference on Iraq
on November 3 in Istanbul, Turkey's biggest city.
Erdogan is to meet US President George W. Bush in Washington on
November 5 to hear on the US response to Ankara's requests.
(Xinhua News Agency October 26, 2007)
