By Xinhua
Ankara : Turkey on Wednesday called on Iraq to fulfill its international commitments, especially the UN Security Council’s resolutions in regard to fighting against terrorism.
Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement that, “Turkey expects Iraq to fulfill its international commitments within the scope of existing good neighborly relations between the two countries.”
“Turkey also monitors the steps that will be taken by Iraq on this matter,” the ministry added, referring to Iraq’s efforts to help combat the outlawed Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK).
The statement came after Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari said his government refused to sign an anti-terror agreement with Turkey because it was not properly drafted.
Zebari said in an interview with a Turkish TV channel that Turkey’s unwillingness to deal with the Kurdish administration in northern Iraq was also behind Iraq’s rejection to ink the agreement.
Turkish Foreign Ministry said Zebari’s some expressions during the interview did not coincide with the developments before and during Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki’s visit to Turkey on August 7.
The statement also recalled that the memorandum of understanding, which was signed during al-Maliki’s visit, confirmed that the banned PKK was a terrorist organization.
The PKK has increased attacks on Turkish troops in southeastern Turkey in recent months, which led to rising Turkish demands for an incursion into northern Iraq to crush the rebels there.
The group, which was listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, launched an armed campaign for an ethnic homeland in the mainly Kurdish southeastern Turkey in 1984, sparking decades of strife that has claimed more than 30,000 lives.