Baku, Azerbaijan, Aug. 23
By Rufiz Hafizoglu – Trend:
Iraq will not allow being turned into a firing ground for neighboring states, the country’s Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari told a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu in Baghdad.
He was commenting on the issue of Iran and Turkey conducting a joint military operation against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorist organization, Turkish media reports Aug. 23.
Ibrahim al-Jaafari noted that at the same time, Iraq is ready to discuss this issue, if one of the parties invites the country to consider conducting a joint military operation.
On Aug. 21, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Iran and Turkey can start a joint military operation against the terrorist organizations in the region.
The Turkish media earlier reported that, Iran had called on Turkey to start joint operations against the PKK in northern Iraq.
This proposal was discussed by Chief of the Iranian Central Command Mohammad Hossein Bagheri and his Turkish counterpart Hulusi Akar in Ankara.
Iran and Turkey are currently negotiating on the start of the military operations at nine sites in northern Iraq.
The conflict between Turkey and the PKK, in which the latter demands the creation of an independent Kurdish state, has continued for more than 30 years and has claimed more than 40,000 lives. United Nations and European Union both list PKK as a terrorist organization.
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