Foreign Minister Ali Babacan (R) and his Spanish counterpart, Miguel Angel Moratinos, address a joint press conference in Ankara on Monday.Foreign Minister Ali Babacan yesterday welcomed proposals for the creation of a three-way mechanism between Turkey, the US and Iraq to fight the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), which has been attacking Turkey from its bases in northern Iraq, but stressed its ongoing bilateral cooperation platforms with the Iraqi central government and the US should continue to function on their own.

Babacan, speaking at a joint press conference with his Spanish counterpart, Miguel Angel Moratinos, said Ankara was working on the proposal, suggested by Iraqi President Jalal Talabani during a telephone conversation with Turkish President Abdullah Gül earlier this month. The two leaders spoke to discuss cooperation over antiterrorism after a deadly attack by the PKK on a military outpost near the border with Iraq on Oct. 3, killing 17 soldiers.

“Such a trilateral structure may prove to be important in the sharing of intelligence and coordination of military activities,” said Babacan. “But this trilateral format is not something that will replace our bilateral cooperation with the US or our talks with the Iraqis. All the efforts and talks currently under way will continue. Whether we can have more cooperation as part of such a trilateral mechanism is something we will study.”

The US is sharing intelligence with Turkey over the movements of the PKK in northern Iraq and allows Turkish jet fighters to use Iraqi airspace in cross-border aerial strikes on the terrorist group. Ankara has refused to include Iraqi Kurds, who run the administration in northern Iraq, in anti-PKK talks, saying they support the PKK. Ankara is urging the administration in Baghdad and the US to take action instead.

But anti-PKK cooperation with the Iraqi Kurds is now a possibility, following talks between senior Kurdish officials and Turkish authorities. In May, Turkey’s special envoy to Iraq, Murat Özçelik, and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s foreign policy advisor, Ahmet Davutoğlu, met with Nechirvan Barzani, the prime minister of the Kurdish administration. Last week, Özçelik had talks with Massoud Barzani in Baghdad.

Babacan said a new phase had begun in relations with the Kurds. “Until recently, we had no contact with the administration in northern Iraq,” he said. “We have crossed a major threshold and established direct dialogue.” The foreign minister said talks with the Kurds are addressing measures to be taken to remove the PKK from northern Iraq and end its terrorist activities.

Also speaking at the press conference, Moratinos said Turkey and Spain were cooperating against terrorism but Babacan requested that this cooperation should be maintained in a more systematic way. Moratinos said an agreement could be signed to combat organized crime and terrorism. He also welcomed Turkey’s election to the UN Security Council, saying it will be a “guarantee” for peace in the world.

On the subject of the Middle East, Babacan said he wanted Turkish-mediated talks between Syria and Israel to resume, expressing hope that Israel will decide to resume meetings once a new government is established.

Border change to be discussed with Baghdad, not Kurds The Turkish government has no intention of discussing a possible change in the border with Iraq with the Iraqi Kurdish administration that runs the country’s north, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan indicated yesterday, saying the issue will be discussed with Iraq’s central administration.

Iraqi Chief of Staff Babakir al-Zibari, an ethnic Kurd, had been quoted in the Turkish media as saying that Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani would agree even to change the borders to better deal with infiltration of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorists from northern Iraq if Turkey agreed to maintain dialogue with him. Barzani would consider possible Turkish demands to create a buffer zone inside northern Iraq or change the border to ensure border security, al-Zibari had told the Hürriyet daily.

Asked to comment on al-Zibari’s comments, Babacan said such issues should be addressed by politicians. “These are not issues that are only up to the local administration in Iraq’s north. Baghdad’s stance is important, the stance of the central government is important,” Babacan said during a press conference with his Spanish counterpart, Miguel Angel Moratinos. “It will be important which issues will be discussed with whom,” he added.