LOC22:16
19:16 GMT
ANKARA, Oct 13 (KUNA) -- The Turkish government is stepping up contacts
with Kurds in northern Iraq in anticipation of a looming offensive on rebel
PKK fighters.
A Turkish delegation is poised to meet Kurdish leader Masud Barzani later
on Monday to thrash out potential military and political measures against the
PKK in northern Iraq, the CNN Turk network said.
Such direct contacts indicate a Turkish political shift from rupture with
the Iraqi Kurdish administration, which Ankara accuses of sympathizing with,
and harboring, separatist rebels, it said.
They also aim to win the approval of Iraqi Kurds ahead of a large-scale
military operation against PKK sites in the mountainous area between Turkey
and Iraq, the network added.
It quoted Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying that the
Turkish government was seeking to work with the central government in Baghdad
in the fight against PKK-linked terrorism.
The PKK launched recent attacks on Turkish territories, leaving 23 army and
police officers dead and around 40 others injured. (end)
mm.mt
KUNA 132216 Oct 08NNNN