Alwaght- Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Jaafari said Wednesday his country was ready to address the issue of the Kurdish PKK militant organization in coordination with concerned countries.
Speaking at a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Baghdad, Jaafari said the PKK has exploited security conditions in northern Iraq to have a presence in some areas.
"Iraq did not bring in the organization from abroad, but the security conditions have enabled it to settle in our territory," he said.
Asked about Iraqi measures to uproot the PKK, Jaafari said Iraq will not allow "insults against any country from our territories".
"We will not allow turning Iraq into a conflict zone," he said.
The Iraqi minister said Baghdad was ready to launch an initiative "to deal with the PKK problem in coordination with concerned countries but without violating the Iraqi sovereignty".
Jaafari called on the Turkish government "to play an important role in rebuilding areas liberated from ISIS".
Last month, Iraqi forces dislodged ISIS from their last stronghold in Mosul, once Iraq’s second largest city in terms of population.
Jaafari and Cavusoglu also discussed the pullout of the Turkish troops deployed at Bashiqa military camp in northern Iraq and reinforcing the reciprocal commercial investments in both countries.
The Iraqi foreign minister also highlighted the necessity of the Turkish military withdrawal from Bashiqa camp, expressing his country’s desire to intensify the economic ties with Turkey.
Cavusoglu clarified that Turkey and Iraq will take a joint stance regarding the situation of Bashiqa camp which, he added, contributed to anti-ISIS operations in Mosul.
The Turkish top diplomat also warned Kurdish leaders against next month’s independence referendum in the country’s Kurdish region.
Cavusoglu had already warned last week that the vote planned for September 25 could even bring Iraq “to civil war”.
Cavusoglu also hailed the military achievements made by the Iraqi forces and stressed the importance of intensifying the economic relations between the two countries.
