Iraqi Kurds pledge to work with US to protect border

Two mainstream Kurdish political parties in northern Iraq pledged on Tuesday to work together with the US and the Iraqi central government to prevent the use of the country's border areas with Turkey in attacks launched by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), noting also that the PKK has led to various problems for the region as well as for Turkey.

The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) released a joint statement for the first time on Tuesday concerning the ongoing tension over the Turkey-Iraq border due to the PKK presence in northern Iraq. The statement came following a joint meeting of the parties' political bureaus chaired by KDP leader Massoud Barzani, who is also the head of the largely autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq.

The meeting was held in the regional capital of Arbil. "The Kurdistan region has not been a part of Turkey's internal political and military problems in the past and is not so today. The PKK has illegally stationed itself in the border areas between Iraq and Turkey, without any legal license or political agreement with the Iraqi government, the KRG [Kurdistan Regional Government] or any political parties. From those border areas, the PKK has created various problems for us," reads the statement, the English version of which was published on pukmedia.com, the official Web site of the PUK party led by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.

"We are ready, together with the Iraqi federal government and the US government -- which in accordance with UN Security Council resolutions has a responsibility to protect Iraq -- to adopt a correct approach to protect the borders and prevent any use of these areas for activities against our neighbors," it says. "We do not support the PKK, or allow any assistance to be provided to them. We hope that all parties, especially the United States, the Iraqi government, our neighbors and all friendly countries who support the people of Iraq and the Kurdistan region, will spare no effort at this difficult time to find appropriate solutions to diffuse the current tense situation at our borders. The KRG stands ready to fulfill its responsibilities, as part of federal Iraq, to contribute positively in this process. We are committed to continuing our political and diplomatic efforts to solve this problem. We desire the success of these legal, diplomatic, political and reform efforts and endeavors."

Speaking at a press conference later in the day, Iraqi Kurdish leader Barzani said Iraqi Kurds have decided to set up a commission to work on ways to resolve the PKK issue. The commission members will have talks in Iraqi Parliament and will also meet Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, a Kurd. Barzani said Iraqi Kurds wanted to resolve the problems with Turkey but rejected "threats." In remarks translated into Turkish, Barzani said: "We are not enemies of Turkey. We are not threatening Turkey's security."

Meanwhile, Iraq's deputy prime minister has said in Baghdad that the federal government's proposals to resolve the border crisis with Turkey were "still on the table" -- the proposals which Ankara has clearly stated were "unsatisfactory."

In an interview with AP Television News held on Monday, Barham Saleh, Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's Kurdish deputy, urged Turkey to reconsider proposals offered during a meeting in Ankara on Friday. The Iraqi delegation suggested US monitors in the border region; reinforcing border posts and setting up new ones to prevent illegal crossings; and reviving a negotiation process among Iraq, Turkey and the US that stalled earlier this year.

The Iraqis also pledged to do everything possible to help free eight Turkish soldiers who were captured by the PKK in an ambush earlier this month, if they were being held in Iraq. But Turkey's Foreign Ministry rejected the steps, saying they were not urgent enough.

"These proposals are still on the table for Turkey to consider. We believe there is a serious problem that needs a serious solution. That solution needs the cooperation between Iraq, the coalition and Turkey. We are ready to do so, but threats and unilateral military action will not resolve this matter -- it will only destabilize the situation and it would be detrimental to [the] Turkish interest and [the] Iraqi interest and it will only help the extremists," Saleh said.

Also on Monday, Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani of the Kurdish regional government told reporters in Arbil that the northern region would not allow any group to attack Turkey or any other neighboring country, referring to the PKK.

"We will not allow any group to use our lands to hit Turkey or any other country," Barzani said and, denouncing the recent terrorist attacks of the PKK against Turkey, called on the Turkish government to adopt peaceful means in handling the situation instead of a military incursion.