ANKARA - Turkish Government Spokesman, State Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek said on Monday that government requested a 1 year motion on a cross-border operation, based on Article 92 of the Turkish Constitution, to eradicate terrorist threats and attacks arising from north of Iraq within the framework of Turkey's international rights arising from international laws.
Speaking to reporters following Monday's Council of Ministers meeting, Cicek stressed that the government's motion targets only terrorist organization PKK.
"The terrorist organization PKK will try to distract the motion of our government. PKK will try to carry the motion to certain platforms. The motion targets PKK alone and is designed to prevent further bloodshed," told Cicek.
"The main policy of the Turkish government is 'peace at home and peace in the world'. We have no interest in the richness of any country," stressed Cicek.
"We request from Iraqi authorities to eradicate PKK presence and activities in north of Iraq. The countless meetings, talks, memorandums, and agreements, unfortunately, did not lead to the eradication of PKK in north of Iraq. We hope that the Turkish Parliament will approve the motion for a cross-border operation. Hopefully, we will establish peace in north of Iraq and in Turkey without the implementation of the motion," noted Cicek.
Referring to a bill recently approved by the Foreign Relations Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives on the Armenian allegations regarding the incidents of 1915, Cicek indicated that such a bill is unjust. "We do not think that the bill is right. The bill does not reflect historical realities," said Cicek.
"The greatest disrespect that could be done to a nation is to allege that it has committed a genocide. We will take all necessary steps and show our reaction to this bill in a timely manner," underlined Cicek.
(SOL-AY)