Turkey, United States and Iraq can eliminate PKK?

PanARMENIAN.Net - Following meetings last week between Gen. David Petraeus, who oversees US war efforts in Afghanistan and Iraq, and Turkish officials in Ankara, a source said the main item of the talks was the ousting of outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) camps from northern Iraq, Today's Zaman reports.



Speaking to Today's Zaman on condition of anonymity, the source said the United States is ready to assist Turkey to eliminate PKK camps in the region and that Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ said Turkey would like to see PKK members handed over to Turkey; otherwise, the operation would be considered far from having eliminated the PKK, which launches attacks on Turkish targets from its Iraqi bases. The US general also said Turkey, the US and Iraq could cooperate to eliminate the PKK from northern Iraq. Gen. Petraeus, the head of US Central Command, arrived in Ankara on June 30, the deadline for US combat troops to withdraw from Iraqi cities. Turkey has said it could agree to the use of Turkish soil for the withdrawal of US troops from neighboring Iraq.



Gen. Petraeus also had a meeting with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu in Ankara where the two talked about issues related to Iraq and Afghanistan. Turkey, a NATO member, is also a key US ally in Afghanistan. The US general said that after withdrawing from Iraq, they would focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan, adding that they could send some of the troops withdrawn from Iraq to those areas, according to the source.



The source said Davutoğlu also told Petraeus that a general amnesty for the PKK is not being considered by the government.