Turkish Interior Minister Besir Atalay on Tuesday said that Turkey, Iraq and the United States were determined to make their cooperation on fighting against terrorism more influential.
Atalay made the remarks at a press conference in the Turkish capital of Ankara following the third ministerial meeting of the tripartite mechanism formed by Turkey, Iraq and the United States, which focused on ways to develop their cooperation in the fight against terrorism and in efforts to eradicate the presence of the banned Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) in Iraqi territories.
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Turkish Interior Minister Besir Atalay (R front) and Iraqi Minister of State for National Security Shirwan al-Waili (L) give a joint news conference following the third ministerial meeting of the tripartite mechanism formed by Turkey, Iraq and the United States, which focused on ways to develop their cooperation in the fight against terrorism and in efforts to eradicate the presence of the banned Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) in Iraqi territories, in Ankara, capital of Turkey, July 28, 2009. Besir Atalay on Tuesday said that Turkey, Iraq and the United States were determined to make their cooperation on fighting against terrorism more influential. [Xinhua] |
"All three parties reiterated their determination to make our cooperation more influential," Atalay said, "cooperation in training of Iraqi security forces was also high on agenda of our meeting."
Atalay, Iraqi Minister of State for National Security Shirwan al-Waili and Deputy Commander of Multinational Force in Iraq Gen. Steven Hummer attended the meeting.
On the issue of Makhmour camp in north Iraq and future of Kurdish immigrants in the camp, Atalay said, "The Makhmour camp and the other issues are parts of a whole. We assess all those issues as a whole. We need more analysis and information about the camp."
Shirwan al-Waili said that Iraq felt uneasy over any element that would pose a threat against Turkey's security, adding the cooperation would continue till presence of PKK organization is totally rooted out.
Al-Waili said the essential target of the meetings and the tripartite mechanism was to eradicate the PKK organization and its members from the Iraqi territories and from the border.
He described today's meeting as "successful and positive", noting that the parties exchanged views on all matters.
"A spirit of cooperation prevails. I would like to underline that the Iraqi party seriously expands efforts. This is our duty, "Al-Waili said, noting that the Iraqi Constitution said Iraqi territories could not be used against any country in a way that would endanger security of a neighboring country.
The next meeting of the three sides will be held in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad in October, when Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to be present.
The PKK took up arms in 1984 in order to create an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey. Some 40,000 people have been killed in conflicts involving the PKK for the past over two decades.
Turkey's military forces have taken tougher actions against the PKK after the country's legislature gave the government mandate to launch cross-border operations against the rebels in northern Iraq in October 2007 and extended it again in 2008.
(Xinhua News Agency July 29, 2009)
