Iraq says Ocalan’s call to dismantle PKK ‘important’ for regional security

• Baghdad urges the PKK to quickly put hands after Ocalan’s call.
• Iraq says political solutions and dialogue are a way to end conflicts.
• The PKK holds positions in the stand -alone area of ​​Kurdistan in Iraq.

Iraq welcomed a call from PKK founder, Abdullah Ocalan for the Kurdish fighter team to break up, saying it could improve regional stability and security.

The Kurdistan Labor Party (PKK) has led a ten -year uprising against the Turkish state and its presence in Iraq is a recurring source of tension between Baghdad and Ankara.

In a statement late Thursday, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry said Ocalan’s call for the team to determine his hands was “a positive and important step towards achieving stability in the region”.

It could contribute to “enhancing security not only in Iraq … but throughout the area,” the ministry said.

The statement stressed that “political solutions and dialogue are the best way to resolve differences and final conflicts”.

In a significant shift, a statement from Ocalan earlier on Thursday said that “all groups must determine their hands and the PKK must be dismantled”.

The call, drawn up in the Ocalan cell in a Turkish prison, where it was isolated since 1999, came four months after Ankara’s hiring to the 75 -year -old fighter leader.

In Iraq, the PKK holds positions in the autonomous region of Kurdistan, where Turkey also maintains military bases and often operates ground and air operations against the Kurdish fighters.

Baghdad has recently sharpened its tone against the PKK, quietly referring to a “forbidden organization” last year.

However, Turkey wants Iraq to go further and formally declare a terrorist group.

In August, Baghdad and Ankara signed a military cooperation agreement to create joint administration and training centers aimed at combating PKK.

In its statement on Thursday, the Iraqi Foreign Ministry expressed hope that the PKK would take “rapid steps” to determine its weapons and stressed the government’s commitment to secure “strong relations with neighboring Turkey”.