By NNN-KUNA,
Ankara : Turkey’s Foreign Minister Ali Babacan has said that it will continue talks with Iraq provided that it initiates further efforts to tackle terrorism.
Babacan said in a press statement Monday regarding the Turkish parliamentary delegation’s visit to Baghdad last week that it is the first time in years that Turkish officials have held talks with their Kurdish counterparts.
He said that the talks were “positive” and “sustained the idea of Turkish commitment to peace and security in the minds of the Iraqi people.”
A Turkish delegation consisting of the Turkish Prime Minister’s Advisor Ahmet Dawood Oglu previously paid a two-day visit to Iraqi Kurdistan where he met Iraqi and Kurdish officials in order to form a joint authority headed by the prime minister’s from both states.
Babacan said that further talks would concentrate on combating terrorism, trade and energy exchange but stated that it would depend on Baghdad’s commitment to fight terrorism, referring to the Kurdistan Worker’s Party’s (PKK) attacks on Turkey.
These developments came about after a visit by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani to Turkey in February during which he reached an agreement with Turkish officials to initiate high-level dialogue aiming to dissolve tension in Turkish-Iraqi relations.