ANKARA - While the Kurdish parliament in Northern Iraq convened for the first time since 1996, Turkey found positive the statements of Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Massaud Barzani and Patriotic Union for Kurdistan (PUK) leader Jalal Talabani as positive.
Turkish officials discussed the same day the re-opening of the Kurdish parliament in Iraq after a long time. Turkey considered positive Talabani's and Barzani's positive approach to the territorial integrity of Iraq and the respresentation of Turkmens, while it will closely monitor the representation of Turkmens in proportion to their population. Ankara wants Turkmens to be represented in the parliament by 10-15 percent and it concluded that there was no extraordinary situation in convention of the parliament.
A high ranking official said that the message the U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powel sent to the opening of the parliament stressing the territorial integrity of Iraq was also in line with Ankara's approach.
Turkey believes that a U.N. Security Council Resolution has to be adopted in case of a possible U.S. operation against Iraq and the U.S. has to continue its efforts to this end.
Turkey conveyed once again the warning to the U.S. officials that if no legal basis can be formed for a possible operation against Iraq, the legitimacy of the operation would be questioned.
Presidential Foreign Affairs Chief Adviser Tacan Ildem also said the same day that there was no need to convene the Turkish parliament due to developments about Iraq.