ISTANBUL (CIHAN) - The US President George W. Bush has pledged to cooperate with Turkey in the rooting out of the PKK militants who are hiding in Northern Iraq.
Speaking in an interview on the Turkish private NTV channel, the US President George W. Bush , who is due to arrive in Turkey on Saturday evening on an official visit which will have the June 28-29 NATO Summit as its main focus, stated that his administration was ready to cooperate with the Turkish government in order to eradicate the PKK militants hiding in the mountainous Northern Iraqi region.
"We will work together in the fight against the PKK. We are pursuing the terrorists. If we recognize an organization as a terrorist organization, we are serious on this issue. Therefore, we will work with the governments, both the Turkish government and the new Iraqi government," President Bush stated during the NTV interview.
The US State Department includes the PKK's new designations - the Kurdistan People's Congress (KHK), and the acronym KONGRA-GEL - in its list of foreign terrorist groups.
Turkey has been seeking to persuade the US to expel the outlawed pro-Kurdish PKK terrorist organization who are hiding in camps in the Kandil Mountains in Northern Iraq.
Turkish and US military and civilian officials reached an agreement last year that USA forces would take action against the PKK/KADEK/KONGRE-GEL militants hiding out in northern Iraq.
Turkish intelligence sources believe that nearly 4000-5000 PKK/KADEK terrorists are hiding in the region.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry has repeatedly called on the US authorities to keep their commitment on the eradication of the PKK militants in northern Iraq.
The Turkish President's advisor, Sermet Atacanlý told a regular press conference at Çankaya Presidential Palace last week that the Turkish President Ahmed Necdet Sezer would ask the US President Bush during the Istanbul end-of-June summit to ensure the removal of the PKK terrorist organization from Northern Iraq.