Yawar Elusive on PKK and Kerkuk Answers

"We do not host them in our lands," was all Yawar said about the existence of PKK in northern Iraq. He also avoided statements that could have offended Iraqi Kurds.

On the other hand, the US yesterday declared that it would continue to collaborate with Turkish and Iraqi officials in an effort to eliminate the PKK from Iraq. Yawar, making his first official visit to Turkey after the transfer of sovereignty in Iraq, visited with Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul in Ankara.

During the talks Turkey informed Yawar that it was suffering serious economic losses since the Kirkuk-Yumurtalik oil pipeline is not flowing. Yawar responded, "We made an agreement with a professional security company from South Africa for the security of the pipeline. Nevertheless, we cannot find a solution."

Yaver also was not amenable to Turkey’s push to open a second border gate. While he said that Iraq was unwilling to harbor the PKK in their lands, Yawar did not offer a clear solution for dealing with the problem. Turkey also reminded Yawar of its wish to open a consulate in Musul (Mosul), to which the Interim Iraqi President replied, "I do not think this will be a problem."

Ankara made known its concerns about the disturbance being caused by Kurdish groups trying to assume control of the city of Kirkuk. Turkey emphasized that this would threaten stability in Kirkuk and all of Iraq.

The two sides agreed that the trade volume between the countries should surpass US$2 billion. "Security is of vital importance to exceed $2 billion. Turkish citizens must be provided with protection," reminded Ankara.

Yawar drew attention to the problems Iraq is currently experiencing, but said that they hope to collaborate in all areas with Turkey. This morning the Iraqi President will attend a breakfast sponsored by DEIK (Turkish- Iraqi Business Council). He will depart Turkey after breakfast.