Turkey's foreign minister rejected any cease-fire by Kurdish rebels Tuesday as he met with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad to press them to crack down on the guerrillas.
According to the AP, Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said there are several ways to fight terrorism and Ankara would use them when appropriate as the buildup of troops along Turkey's border with Iraq continued. The intensified diplomatic activity followed Sunday's ambush near the Iraqi border that left 12 Turkish troops dead, 16 wounded and eight missing.
"We also don't wish our historical and friendly ties with Iraq to be ruined because of a terrorist organization," Babacan said at a joint news conference after meeting with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari. "On the other hand, we are expecting support from international community and our neighbors in struggle against terrorism."
According to him, Kurdish attacks left 42 people dead alone this month. He flatly rejected any offer of a cease-fire by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Cease-fires are "possible between states and regular forces," Babacan said. "The problem here is that we're dealing with a terrorist organization."
The PKK has called on Turkey not to attack Iraq, claiming that a unilateral cease-fire declared in June was still in place although it did not halt fighting. "The position of the PKK is that we have agreed to a cease-fire but when we are attacked by the Turkish troops we will hit back," rebel spokesman Abdul-Rahman al-Chadarchi told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
"When they were attacking us, they were our enemies but now they are helpless captives whom we will take care of," al-Chadarchi said. "When the Turkish government asks for them, we can talk about conditions."
