As Talabani meets with undersecretary Logoglu, diplomatic sources say he
has asked for more trade with Turkey in a bid to improve the living conditions in
the PUK-controlled region of northern Iraq
 

Jan 10, 2001
Ankara - Turkish Daily News

Patriotic Union Of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Jalal Talabani has met with the Foreign
Ministry Undersecretary Faruk Logoglu and deputy undersecretary Ugur Ziyal amid
press reports that claimed Turkey had started a new massive military campaign in
northern Iraq to eradicate remaining outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
terrorists.

Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit is expected to receive Talabani today. Talabani is also
expected to meet with officials from the General Staff. As Foreign Minister Ismail
Cem is in Sudan for an official visit, he will not meet with Talabani.

Talabani has met with the U.S. Embassy deputy chief in Ankara, which American
diplomats said was "a meeting that has happened in the past as well." Diplomats
from the Japanese Embassy have also met with Talabani at the Sheraton Hotel
where he stays.

Diplomatic sources say they have exchanged views with Talabani on a wide range of
topics, the PKK being at the center of discussions. Turkey asks for full cooperation
from PUK to fight the PKK and insists it is a condition for any Turkish aid to be
contributed to the PUK-controlled region. While relations between Ankara and PUK
only recently improved after Talabani's visit to Turkey early last summer, PUK
severed its relations with the PKK as the terrorist organization started to damage
PUK's authority in Northern Iraq.

Diplomatic sources indicate that another topic that was extensively discussed was
trade with the PUK-controlled region and opening a new border gate. As the only
border gate between Turkey and Iraq is controlled by the Kurdistan Democratic Party
(KDP), PUK can not make any revenue from Habur and insists on a new gate.
Talabani wants the Ankara process to be revitalized, which was not put into effect
fully.

The leader of KDP Masoud Barzani is also expected to visit Ankara this weekend.

Upon his arrival in Ankara Monday evening, Talabani denied reports that Turkey
dispatched thousands of troops to Iraq. He called the reports "lies and propaganda",
according to the Anatolia news agency. "I saw no Turkish soldiers (in northern Iraq),"
he said.

Ecevit previously stated that Turkey was providing technical support for Iraqi Kurdish
factions in order to guarantee its own security. The PUK has intermittently clashed
with the PKK in recent months, but another PUK aide in Ankara said there had been
no clashes in recent weeks.

"We expect to discuss developing our co-operation," Talabani said of his meetings
with Ecevit and Cem. "Ankara and we both want stability in northern Iraq. Since we
have mutual aims, it's normal for us to meet."

The Anatolia said Talabani told reporters he had met with Kurdish rival Massoud
Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). "We had a fruitful visit with
Barzani," he said. "We found ourselves discussing the Washington agreement and
our ongoing efforts with Ankara."

Washington brokered a 1998 cease-fire between the PUK and KDP, and relative
peace between the Kurdish factions has united the region against Baghdad.

Turkey allows U.S. and British military aircraft to use an air base to patrol northern
Iraq's no-fly zone. In return, Turkish forces regularly cross the border to pursue PKK
guerrillas with little Western opposition.
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The Kurdistan Observer
www.kurdistanobserver.com