Turkey launches new dialogue with Iraqi Kurds

15/05/2008

Turkey had its first senior official contact with the Iraqi Kurdish regional government, which according to some analysts, could improve the climate for solving the Kurdish issue.

By Ayhan Simsek for Southeast European Times -- 15/05/08

"This is an important step for creating an atmosphere of confidence," Turkish President Abdullah Gül said. [Getty Images]

In an effort to open talks between Turkish officials and the Iraqi Kurds, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's chief foreign policy adviser, Ahmet Davudoğlu, and Turkish special envoy for Iraq Murat Özcelik met with Kurdish regional Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani in Baghdad at the beginning of this month.

The two sides reviewed the issues that have damaged bilateral relations, according to a statement from Iraqi President Jalal Talabani's office. "Both sides have found the necessary mechanism to overcome these hurdles hindering the development of the relationship," it stressed.

Close ties between Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds deteriorated after the Iraq war. Ankara accused Iraqi Kurds of harbouring the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), whose members use bases in northern Iraq to launch attacks across the border. Turkish reprisals against the PKK in the last couple of months compounded the tension.

But following the Baghdad meeting, positive remarks by both sides signal a new period. Kurdish regional President Massoud Barzani underlined that the first official contact in years helped remove a "psychological barrier". "This is an important step for creating an atmosphere of confidence," Turkish President Abdullah Gül said.

Barzani also refused to meet a delegation from Turkey's pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP). "The Barzanis realised that just as they were creating a new atmosphere of reconciliation with Ankara, it would be wrong to meet a delegation that is so closely identified with the PKK by the Turks," the chief columnist for The New Anatolian said.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said there will be a closer dialogue -- with both the Iraqi central and Kurdish regional governments -- on energy, trade and the struggle against terrorism soon. The level and frequency of the dialogue will be closely linked to concrete rhetoric and deeds, particularly those in the fight against terrorism, Babacan said.

"Our Iraqi policy seeks further dialogue and improved relations with all groups in the country. ... Now you can expect an increase in contacts with the local administration in north Iraq on different levels," Babacan said.

According to Fox Turk television's Sedat Bozkurt, the recent co-operation between the two sides would not include a common operation against the PKK in the region, since Iraqi Kurds still have reservations. "But it will definitely put psychological pressure on the PKK," he said, adding that the military option cannot be the only tool to eliminate the PKK. "Both sides need each other," he noted.

Turkey stepped up military action against the PKK starting in December 2007, with air strikes and a February ground incursion.