ANKARA - Turkish President Abdullah Gul said on Saturday that the Kurdish leaders in the north of Iraq started to complain about terrorism.
Gul replied to questions at Ankara's Esenboga airport upon his arrival from Estonia.
Commenting on the fight against terrorism, Gul said, "if you examine the remarks of the Kurdish leaders in the north of Iraq, you will see that they have started to complain about terrorism as well. They are now calling it a 'trouble'. Therefore, the recent terrorist attacks aim to prevent this cooperation and solidarity".
Upon a question pointing to several statements claiming that talks should be held with the regional administration in the north of Iraq within the scope of the fight against terrorism, Gul said it had been previously expressed in various statements released after National Security Council meetings that Turkey should communicate with all the groups in Iraq.
Gul also said that the mountainous areas in the north of Iraq became a shelter for terrorists due to the lack of authority in the country.
"In an effort to fight against this fact, it is quite normal to hold talks with officials from the north of Iraq, just like the talks held with everybody else in the country," Gul said.
"I believe that Iraq's stability, security and richness have a great connection with its friendship and cooperation with Turkey," he also said.
Replying to a question on the current global economic crisis, Gul said that Turkey had taken precautions beforehand, however, this did not mean that the country would never be affected by such crisis.
"It will certainly affect us in a way. Therefore, we should be cautious," he added.
(DO-EÖ)
(DIP)