ANKARA (AA) - U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage said on Monday that the terrorist organization PKK could be taken up in a tripartite security meeting to be held soon.
After meeting Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, Armitage told reporters that he congratulated Gul on the outcome of the meeting of the European Council held on December 17th, 2004 and Turkey's successful diplomacy.
Asked if the United States would start an armed struggle against the terrorist organization PKK, Armitage said that the matter was debated in their meeting, and a tripartite meeting on security could be held soon. He added that this matter could be discussed in that meeting.
When he was recalled that Kurdish groups in Iraq changed the demographic structure of Kirkuk and asked about Turkey's concerns over this matter, Armitage said that not only Kirkuk, but also the population structure of whole Iraq was changed by use of force.
Armitage said that Kurds and Turkmens were put in the same category, adding that the interim laws touched on correction of situation of those who were affected negatively by this and who had to leave their homes.
Answering a question if Turkey could act as a mediator in Israeli-Palestinian dispute within the framework of his visit to the Middle East, Armitage said that they did not discuss mediation in their meeting.
Noting that Turkey had close relations with Israel and Syria, Armitage said that they debated the election process in Palestine. He added that the new Palestinian administration should support resumption of peace process.
(BRC-A֩
2005-01-03