BY FIKRET BILA
MILLIYET- Turkey, the US and Iraq held a security summit in Ankara yesterday. A joint statement released after the meeting said that the parties had decided that Turkey and Iraq would meet again in the future to develop measures to fight the terrorist group PKK/Kongra-Gel and other possible terrorist threats from northern Iraq to Turkey. The statement further states that the US will support this cooperation between Turkey and Iraq. The statement’s important point is that the cooperation has shifted towards the Turkish-Iraqi axis. In the beginning, cooperation against the terrorist group was between Ankara and Washington. A bilateral meeting for the same purpose was held between the US and Turkey in Ankara. It was stated that Ankara and Washington had reached an agreement on joint measures against the PKK/Kongra-Gel.
The US has repeatedly explained that it isn’t planning to a military operation against the PKK/Kongra-Gel. Most recently, US Ambassador to Ankara Eric Edelman reiterated this and added that he didn’t expect an operation before Jan. 30, the date of Iraqi elections. Yesterday’s summit is important for the US’ stance. Washington removed itself from being a party on this issue and took the position of a country supporting Turkish-Iraqi cooperation. The US seems to be leaning towards disengaging from the problem.
How far could the cooperation between Turkey and Iraq go? We’ll see how effective an axis between Ankara and Baghdad will be under a US and Kurdish authority in northern Iraq. Turkey has to deal with its own domestic problems. After the process of partially legitimizing the terrorist group, we see pressure on Turkish policy. Although now the government is overlooking this pressure, the issue is on the public agenda and we’re seeing political requests. It’s also clear that these issues will be dealt with during our EU membership process. Therefore we can say that Turkey will be under political pressure regarding northern Iraq. The government must recognize this.