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A Turkish Delegation In Iraq, First Official Contact Between Turkey And Kurdish Leadership of N.Iraq
A Turkish delegation, headed by the Turkish Prime Minister’s chief adviser Ahmet Davutoglu met on Thursday with the Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, the Prime Minister of Kurdish administration Barzani, and high ranking officials from the Iraqi government and Kurdish administration. Talabani, who visited Turkey in March, said he was pleased that the meeting had taken place. He said that it was important for Turkey to strengthen ties with not only the central Iraqi government but also the Kurdish administration.Talabani’s statement said, "The two delegations met and they discussed mutual relations between the two sides and studied the problems and anxiety which have colored relations between them in the past. The two sides found the necessary mechanism to overcome these problems and hurdles which hinder the development of the relationship between the two sides". Falah Mustafa, foreign policy chief in the Kurdish regional government said, "This is the first time a meeting has taken place between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan government". In the meantime, President Abdullah Gul yesterday met with Iraqi Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi in Ankara and the fight against the PKK came up during their talks. Gul said that they had a comprehensive meeting with al-Hashimi where Turkish-Iraqi relations were broadly discussed. Source: Anatolia News Agency, Hurriyet, May 2, 2008
Posted at: 2008-05-02
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