Print

Mail

wiki links

Turkey says Iraq did 'too little, too late'

Turkey on Friday rejected Iraqi proposals to stop Kurdish rebels making cross-border attacks as too little, too late and said it remained in a "constant state of alert."

A visit for crisis talks to Ankara by a high-ranking Iraqi delegation led by its defense and national security ministers was "a positive effort ... well-intentioned and sincere," the Turkish foreign ministry said.

"However ... we see that the Iraqi delegation has come with ideas that will take a long time to implement. The time factor is very important," it said.

"Turkey," it said, "expects urgent and determined measures in the fight against the PKK [Kurdistan Workers' Party] `terror organization.'"

Turkey says PKK rebels, who have been waging a campaign for self-rule in southeast Turkey since 1984, enjoy safe haven in bases in northern Iraq and has long complained about what it calls US and Iraqi inaction.

AMBUSH

After an ambush on a military patrol on Sunday killed 12 soldiers and left eight captured, the Turkish parliament authorized the government to order military incursions against the bases of the PKK inside Iraq.

The Turkish army has since massed troops and equipment along the border and said it killed more than 60 Kurdish rebels in fighting. Washington and Baghdad are opposed to any incursion from Turkey.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said after returning from Romania that his country remained "in a constant state of alert" but hinted that any cross-border operation was unlikely to happen before he flies to Washington on Nov. 5.

Erdogan told reporters that military action was part of a "process," which includes his meeting with US President George W. Bush at the White House next month.

PROPOSALS

Iraq's proposals at Friday's meeting included coalition forces watching over the Turkish-Iraqi border and the creation of more and reinforced military outposts along the border to prevent infiltration by PKK rebels.

Baghdad also suggested direct talks between the Turkish, Iraqi and US military and the revival of a tripartite panel to coordinate the fight against the PKK.

The solution to the problem "must in any case be political and diplomatic," the Iraqis said.

Iraqi Defense Minister Abdel Qader Mohammed Jassim and National Security Minister Shirwan al-Waeli discussed the proposals with Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan and Interior Minister Besir Atalay for 90 minutes on Friday morning and again in the afternoon.

Washington and Baghdad have vowed to make good on promises to crack down on the PKK, but Turkish leaders, facing strong domestic pressure for rapid military action, have voiced mounting exasperation.

The Iraqi delegation included Iraq's intelligence chief and representatives of the two major Kurdish parties in northern Iraq, as well as a US military officer.
This story has been viewed 822 times.