PM Erdogan: It is time to put an end to presence of terrorist organization PKK/Kongra-Gel in Iraq

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday, ``it is high time to put an end to the presence of the terrorist organization PKK/Kongra-Gel in Iraq. It will be useful to hold the scheduled security meeting between Ankara, Washington DC and Baghdad authorities, in Turkey.``
     Prime Minister Erdogan talked to U.S. President George W. Bush on the phone.
     During the telephone conversation, Prime Minister Erdogan informed President Bush about the EU Summit in Brussels and thanked him for his support to Turkey`s EU membership. Meanwhile, President Bush congratulated Prime Minister Erdogan saying that the success of Turkey at the EU Summit was the outcome of his leadership.
     In response, Prime Minister Erdogan said that a new era had begun in the relations between Turkey and the EU, adding that those relations would further strengthen the friendly relations with the United States.
     Referring to recent developments in Iraq, Prime Minister Erdogan said: ``the heinous attack on five Turkish security guards revealed once again the real dimension of the threat. I learnt that U.S. forces intervened to save Turkish servicemen. A Turkish official, who was injured in the attack, was transferred to the Multinational Force Hospital by U.S. forces. I want to thank U.S. forces for their cooperation. Those who are responsible for killing of Turkish security guards should be brought to justice. We rely on cooperation of the United States.``
     President Bush said that he had given orders to the relevant units to investigate the incident.
     Meanwhile, Prime Minister Erdogan expressed his concerns about possibility of spreading of ongoing clashes in Mosul to neighboring city of Kirkuk.
     Highlighting importance of preserving unity of Iraq, Prime Minister Erdogan said, ``we encourage all sections in Iraq to participate in the upcoming elections.``
     President Bush said they also believed that territorial integrity of Iraq should be preserved.
     ``It is time to put an end to presence of the terrorist organization PKK/Kongra-Gel in Iraq. Earlier, it was decided to hold a security meeting among Turkey, the United States and Iraq. It will be useful to hold this meeting in Turkey,`` Prime Minister Erdogan said.
     President Bush welcomed the proposal, and pledged to deal with the issue in the coming days.
     (UK-ULG)
2004-12-21