Iraqi Minister, Turkish Delegation Discuss Incursion into Northern Iraq

Text of report in English by Turkish news agency Anatolia

Baghdad, 27 February: A group of Turkish officials met Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari in Baghdad on Wednesday [27 February] over Turkish military’s ground operation in Iraq’s north.

“We are not violating Iraq’s sovereign rights but we are securing them by removing the PKK [Kurdistan Workers' Party] from the region,” said Ahmet Davutoglu, senior adviser to the Turkish prime minister, at a press conference after the meeting.

Davutoglu said the duration of the Turkish military operation did not come up during the meeting.

“We did not talk about any time frame for the withdrawal of Turkish forces,” he said, stressing that the target of the operation was the terrorist organization.

Zebari said PKK was a terrorist organization and the Iraqi government did not support it, however the presence of a foreign military forces on Iraqi soil constituted a “sensitive issue” for Iraqi sovereignty.

Originally published by Anatolia news agency, Ankara, in English 1245 27 Feb 08.

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