Iraq says ready to address PKK problem

By Ali Jawad

BAGHDAD

Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Jaafari said Wednesday his country was ready to address the issue of the PKK terrorist organization in coordination with concerned countries.

Speaking at a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Baghdad, Jaafari said the PKK has exploited security conditions in northern Iraq to have a presence in some areas.

"Iraq did not bring in the organization from abroad, but the security conditions have enabled it to settle in our territory," he said.

Asked about Iraqi measures to uproot the PKK, Jaafari said Iraq will not allow "insults against any country from our territories".

"We will not allow turning Iraq into a conflict zone," he said.

The Iraqi minister said Baghdad was ready to launch an initiative "to deal with the PKK problem in coordination with concerned countries but without violating the Iraqi sovereignty".

Jaafari called on the Turkish government "to play an important role in rebuilding areas liberated from Daesh".

Last month, Iraqi forces dislodged Daesh from their last stronghold in Mosul, once Iraq’s second largest city in terms of population.

In late 2015, the Kurdish Peshmerga forces recaptured Sinjar in northern Iraq from Daesh, which overrun the district a year earlier.

PKK militants, however, have been deployed in the area since 2014 on claims of fighting Daesh.

In an interview with Reuters in April, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said his country will not allow Sinjar to turn into a PKK base.

The PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- resumed its armed campaign against Turkey in July 2015.

Since then, it has been responsible for the deaths of 1,200 Turkish security personnel and civilians, women and children.