ANKARA - Massoud Barzani, the leader of the Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) said on Tuesday that the problems between Turkey and KDP can be resolved through dialogue and not through threats and pressure.
Issuing a written statement, Barzani who caused reaction of Turkey recently due to his statements against Turkey, said that ''recently a number of attributed press statements to us had appeared in the international media, among them was an interview that appeared in the German Weekly Die Ziet of 5 Sept. 2002. The interview was made on July 13, 2002 by a freelance journalist and nearly two months later was printed in a distorted manner. These press reports run contrary to KDP's realistic and consistent policies, and since many issues were misrepresented we would like to clarify our position.''
''We committed to Iraq's territorial integrity and unity and we support a democratic, pluralist parliamentary and federal Iraq that will ensure the rights of all Iraqi peoples. The future political system of Iraq should be decided by the people of Iraq without any outside intervention and pressure.''
''KDP position on terrorism is clear and solid. We have always stood against terrorism and we would do so now and in the future. We will oppose all those who resort to terrorism as a means to an end.''
''We have always maintained that our relations with neighboring countries should be friendly and based on common interests, cooperation and mutual respect. While we understand the concern and unease of our neighboring countries, particularly Turkey, we are prepared and determined to work and cooperate closely with Turkey to end tension through dialogue. We are also committed to offer whatever assurances needed to Turkey's national security and sovereignty. We will never allow the areas under our control to become a sanctuary to anyone to undermine the security and stability of our neighboring countries. At the same time, we believe that the difficulties we are encountering in our bilateral relations with Turkey can be resolved through dialogue and not through threats and pressure. This is our position and we are not responsible for any other manipulated statements.''
The statement of Barzani is important as it came after the agreement he reached with Patriotic Union for Kurdistan (PUK) leader Jalal Talabani. Turkey was uneasy about the earlier statements of Barzani and the agreement reached between KDP and PUK and called Barzani to give a clear decision about its relation with a terrorist organization which caused bloodshed in Turkey and to issue this statement to public opinion as soon as possible.