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.
READINESS: According to a survey of 2,000 people, 86 percent of Swedes believe the country is worth defending in the event of a military attack Swedes are stocking up on food items in case of war, as more conflict in Europe no longer feels like a distant possibility, and authorities encourage measures to boost readiness. At a civil preparedness fair in southwest Stockholm, 71-year-old Sirkka Petrykowska said that she is taking the prospect of hostilities seriously and preparing as much as she can. “I have bought a camping stove. I have taken a course on preservation in an old-fashioned way, where you can preserve vegetables, meat and fruit that lasts for 30 years without a refrigerator,” Petrykowska said. “I’ve set aside blankets for warmth, I
FRUSTRATIONS: One in seven youths in China and Indonesia are unemployed, and many in the region are stuck in low-productivity jobs, the World Bank said Young people across Asia are struggling to find good jobs, with many stuck in low-productivity work that the World Bank said could strain social stability as frustrations fuel a global wave of youth-led protests. The bank highlighted a persistent gap between younger and more experienced workers across several Asian economies in a regional economic update released yesterday, noting that one in seven young people in China and Indonesia are unemployed. The share of people now vulnerable to falling into poverty is now larger than the middle class in most countries, it said. “The employment rate is generally high, but the young struggle to
ENERGY SHIFT: A report by Ember suggests it is possible for the world to wean off polluting sources of power, such as coal and gas, even as demand for electricity surges Worldwide solar and wind power generation has outpaced electricity demand this year, and for the first time on record, renewable energies combined generated more power than coal, a new analysis said. Global solar generation grew by a record 31 percent in the first half of the year, while wind generation grew 7.7 percent, according to the report by the energy think tank Ember, which was released after midnight yesterday. Solar and wind generation combined grew by more than 400 terawatt hours, which was more than the increase in overall global demand during the same period, it said. The findings suggest it is
‘ARMED CONFLICT’: At least 21 people have died in such US attacks, while experts say the summary killings are illegal even if they target confirmed narcotics traffickers US forces on Friday carried out a strike on an alleged drug-smuggling boat off the coast of Venezuela, killing four people, US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said. The latest strike, which Hegseth announced in a post on X, brings the number of such US attacks to at least four, leaving at least 21 people dead. An accompanying video shared by Hegseth showed a boat speeding across the waves before being engulfed in smoke and flames. “Four male narco-terrorists aboard the vessel were killed,” the Pentagon chief wrote. He said the strike “was conducted in international waters just off the
RSS