Turkey ready to support clearing Sinjar from PKK, Akar says
Shafaq News / Turkish Defense Minister, Hulusi Akar, expressed on Wednesday his country's readiness to assist both Kurdistan Regional Government and the federal government in implementing Sinjar Agreement and expelling Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) from the disputed district between Erbil and Baghdad.
"We can say that we are determined to end the terrorists as a result of our cooperation with both the regional administration and Baghdad," Akar said in a statement from the Turkish consulate in Erbil today.
He noted that Turkey-Iraq, as well as Turkey-Erbil cooperation, will bring essential developments in the coming period in fighting terrorism.
"Turkey is closely following developments in Iraq's Sinjar district," the Turkish defense minister said, stressing that Ankara is ready to support clearing the region of terrorists.
The Minister of Defense pointed out that his meetings with officials of Baghdad and Erbil were fruitful and successful, as he discussed with them the file of combating "PKK" and other security issues of common interest.
He continued, "After the intensive talks, we noticed the convergence of views between the two parties on many files. This is a source of pleasure. We reached understandings on many issues."
Akar explained that he informed the Iraqi side that Turkey opposes some powers' efforts to turn Iraq into a conflict arena, indicating that Ankara respects the territorial integrity of all neighboring countries.
He noted, "the security of our borders with Iraq is crucial for us. We emphasized this during our meetings with Iraqi officials, and we will do everything we can to clear the region of terrorism."
"We will continue to exchange information in the field of combating terrorism with the Iraqi side, and we will establish appropriate mechanisms for this purpose. The Iraqi side has expressed its readiness for that," he added.
Akar stressed that Turkey would provide the necessary support to strengthen the Iraqi army, as Ankara would provide Iraq with its expertise in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
