Turkey wants Iraq to designate PKK a ‘terrorist’ organisation: Top diplomat

Turkey says PKK is a threat to Iraqi security, ignoring Baghdad’s complaints about Ankara’s air attacks on Iraqi soil.
Turkey expects the government in Iraq to officially recognise the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or the PKK, as a “terrorist” organisation, mirroring Ankara and its Western allies, its foreign minister says. Turkey’s top diplomat, Hakan Fidan, was in Baghdad on Tuesday on his first official visit since taking office. Fidan, whose visit is also aimed at preparing for an upcoming trip by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – which as yet does not have an official date – described the PKK as a common enemy.
“We cannot accept PKK challenging the sovereignty of Iraq,” he told a joint news conference after sitting down with his Iraqi counterpart, Fuad Hussein, in the Iraqi capital. “Sinjar, Makhmour, Qandil, Sulaimaniyah, and many other Iraqi districts have been occupied by the PKK terror group.” Baghdad has regularly complained that Turkish air attacks in northern Iraq constitute a violation of its sovereignty, despite Ankara’s claims that it is trying to face off a force that has “occupied” parts of Iraq.
Source:aljazeera.com