Azerbaijan, Baku, Jan.13 / Trend A.Taghiyeva /
Turkish deputy foreign minister Firudin Sinirlioglu will meet Massoud Barzani, the head of regional administration in the north of Iraq, the Sabah newspaper reported today.
Mr Sinirlioglu will head for Erbil where he will met a number of administration's officials, Mr Barzani's deputy Nechiravan Barzani and Bahram Salih. They will primarily discuss the war on terror.
Iraq's Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki said earlier for an effective fight against the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) it is necessary to bring country's security forces into action and avoid foreign intervention. Mr Al-Maliki offered a suggestion whereby Iraq's security forces should be concentrated in the north of the country.
Turkey's parliament has extended the mandate for another year to carry out trans-boundary military operations in Northern Iraq as happened last year.
The Turkish Air Force made air strikes on Northern Iraq to destroy the PKK's bases in August-September 2011 and over 300 militants were killed. The Turkish General Staff said it will carefully track separatists' activities in Northern Iraq and as new targets are detected will launch air operations.
The conflict between Turkey and the PKK has lasted for over 25 years, claiming over 40,000 lives. The PKK is recognised as a terrorist organisation by both the UN and the EU.