Iraqi Kurds: Armenians win, we pay the price

PanARMENIAN.Net - "Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan is asking his country's parliament this week to unanimously approve a "mobilization" against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), an action that he and other Turkish leaders have signaled could include a Turkish military attack on the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. Such an attack would represent the gravest challenge to Iraq since our liberation from Saddam Hussein in 2003 and would jeopardize, perhaps fatally, the success of the American mission in Iraq," Falah Mustafa Bakir, Head of Department of Foreign Relations, with Ministerial rank, in the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, wrote in The Washington Post.



"The Kurdistan Region is Iraq's safest and most secure. But we may soon pay a heavy price for the actions of the PKK in Turkey, and for a House Foreign Affairs Committee vote about the Armenian Genocide- neither of which have anything to do with the Kurds of Iraq or the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG.)," he continued



"The KRG seeks no conflict with Turkey. Quite the opposite: the KRG considers friendly relations with Turkey its top priority. We consider the Turkish people as close friends and neighbors with whom we have much in common. Turkish trade and investment has been instrumental to our region's economic growth. We are interested in pursuing stronger ties through direct dialogue with Ankara on any and all issues of common interest. Any problems or disagreements should be solved through diplomacy and dialogue, not threats of military force.



We condemn the killing of innocent people and we do not believe that violence ever solves problems. The KRG has supported U.S. mediation efforts with Iraq and Turkey about the PKK, and has encouraged efforts toward a comprehensive political solution to the problem of the PKK, which cannot be solved solely through military means. The KRG does not and will not support the de-stabilization of Turkey or any of our neighbors. We respect and practice the principle of noninterference in the affairs of others, and expect the same in return," he wrote.