By NNN-KUNA
Baghdad : Dialogue and negotiations through diplomatic channels are the best choice for orienting bilateral relations between Iraq and Turkey, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyer Zebary said.
He made the statement during a meeting with the Turkish ambassador in Baghdad Tuesday, noting that they would never accept any incursion to their country or its sovereignty.
In a statement issued by the Iraqi Foreign Ministry, Zebary underlined “his official and personal keenness on promoting bilateral relations, apart from the current tension.”
Referring to the forthcoming wide-scale Iraq neighbours conference due in Istanbul, the Iraqi Foreign Minister said it would offer a better chance for consultations.
He hoped the course of the Istanbul conference would not shift to tackle the current tension on the borders with Turkey and that the event would remain “an international conference to support security and stability in Iraq.”
In a related development, another Foreign Ministry statement said that Zebary had acquainted the heads of the diplomatic missions in Iraq with the latest developments of the situation with Turkey.
The Iraqi Foreign Minister emphasized his country’s keenness on cooperation with Ankara saying Iraq had confirmed that the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) was illegitimate and that his country would never recognise the party’s militants. “We were victims of terrorism and can never support terrorists,” Zebary said.
Iraq had proposed that the multinational forces in the country would monitor the borders with Turkey through air reconnaissance in addition to forming Iraqi, Turkish and American teams to coordinate field moves, Zebary said.
He added that Iraq was ready to close down all the PKK’s offices in the Iraqi towns and cities. But according to Zebary, the Turkish side did not respond to the Iraqi proposals.