Kurd president Barzani rejects Turkish call to curb PKK as Iraq President Talabani stands at his side

Above: Turkish tanks conduct 'exercises' near the border with Iraq today.

SALAHEDDIN, Iraq (AFP) - The president of Iraq's Kurdish region on Thursday rejected Ankara's declaration that it was ready for dialogue with Iraqi Kurds provided they took measures against Turkish Kurd rebels holed up in the autonomous enclave.

"We do not accept the conditions laid down to deal with the PKK. We have always said that we would help Turkey if it chooses the path of dialogue and we confirm this," Massoud Barzani told a news conference alongside Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, also a Kurd. "If Turkey's aim is war, we are not prepared to accept these conditions," Barzani added.

The PKK or Kurdistan Workers' Party, branded as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community, has fought for self-rule in Turkey's mainly Kurdish southeast since 1984 in a conflict that has claimed more than 37,000 lives...

"A Turkish invasion would be first of all an attack on Iraqi sovereignty and then an attack on the Kurds," said Barzani.

Read the rest at Yahoo News

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