Turkish PM invites Iraqi counterpart to discuss Kurd rebels
Sunday, 17 June 2007
ANKARA, June 16 (AFP): Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has invited his Iraqi counterpart Nuri al-Maliki to Ankara to discuss measures against the safe haven that Turkish Kurd rebels enjoy in northern Iraq.
Under mounting pressure to toughen measures against resurging rebel violence ahead of elections on July 22, Erdogan told the CNN Turk news channel late Friday he was awaiting a response to a letter he sent recently to Maliki proposing talks by the end of June.
The influential Turkish army has called for a cross-border operation to destroy bases of the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in neighbouring northern Iraq, where, Ankara says, the rebels also obtain weapons and explosives for attacks in Turkey.
Under mounting pressure to toughen measures against resurging rebel violence ahead of elections on July 22, Erdogan told the CNN Turk news channel late Friday he was awaiting a response to a letter he sent recently to Maliki proposing talks by the end of June.
The influential Turkish army has called for a cross-border operation to destroy bases of the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in neighbouring northern Iraq, where, Ankara says, the rebels also obtain weapons and explosives for attacks in Turkey.