| | | | The Turkish General Staff said they would have to be assured that the US took Ankara’s concerns over the activities of the terrorist group the PKK/KADEK seriously and took concrete steps to eradicate them in northern Iraq, where the group has bases.
Among the other conditions set are that the Turkish forces should not be under the control of the US though Turkish troops would work in close co-operation and co-ordination them. Turkey also wants to have any contingent of its troops stationed to the north of Baghdad.
The Turkish military also asked that security on the Dohak-Mosul-Kirkuk-Baghdad road be increased as both Turkish troops. their equipment and food would be conveyed along that route. It was also requested that the people of the region invite the Turkish forces and that all groups open their arms to them.
Another issue raised at the talks was the statement by the leader of the PKK/KADEK, Osman Öcalan, in the Arabic El Hayat paper calling for a roadmap for Kurds and threatening to carry the war to Turkish cities if this was not done.
It was also reported that during Wednesday’s visit by General James Jones, NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, the US General had asked Turkey to provide between 8,500 to 11,000 troops for service in Iraq. Jones also is reported to have said that the US shared Turkey’s views of the PKK and that the Pentagon would take steps on the issue soon. | |
