Mccormack: We Would Suggest Negroponte Attend President Bush-premier Erdogan Meeting

WASHINGTON D.C. - Sean McCormack, spokesman for the U.S. Department of State, said Thursday they would suggest Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte attend the scheduled meeting between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and U.S. President George W. Bush since Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is going to be traveling at that point in time.
McCormack said at the daily press briefing Rice is going to have an opportunity to see Prime Minister Erdogan as well as President Abdullah Gul while she's in Ankara.
"The PKK is going to be a topic of conversation with Turkish leaders. It's of deep concern to them. It's of concern to us. So we're going to talk to them about ways that we can address the immediate problem of stopping these attacks. And then the longer term problem of dismantling and eliminating a terrorist organization operating on Iraqi soil," he added.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Rice told reporters aboard her plane en route to Turkey the United States would work jointly with Turkey and Iraq to combat the PKK attacking Turkey from havens in northern Iraq.
"We have a common enemy and we are going to act as if we have a common enemy, which means that we are going to work with our Turkish allies and the Iraqis to have an effective way of dealing with the PKK," Rice said.
During her trip to Ankara, Rice will be received by President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. She is also scheduled to meet Foreign Minister Ali Babacan.
Later, Rice will proceed to Istanbul to attend the international conference on Iraq.