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| Iraq |
| Iraq, Turk leaders agree to boost ties |
| 2008-07-11 |
| BAGHDAD - Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan pledged on Thursday to boost ties with Iraq and urged the region to do more to help the Baghdad government rebuild after years of war. Erdogan is the first Turkish leader to visit Iraq in nearly 20 years. The Turkish leader said both Baghdad and Ankara wanted to form a "security area that would eliminate terrorist threats between the two countries". Relations have often been strained by Kurdish PKK rebels who use northern Iraq to launch attacks into neighbouring Turkey. "With regards to the terrorism of the PKK, we received support from the Iraqi government ... and the regional Kurdistan government in northern Iraq," Erdogan said at a news conference in remarks translated from Turkish into Arabic. |
| Posted by:Steve White |