Over the weeks, Turkey has been attacked by militants from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). After attacks, the members ran back into Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq. The Turkish government wanted to take military action. Both Iraq and the United States wanted them to wait. In turn, Turkey had agreed to exhaust all diplomatic options but warned that they would be running out of patience.
The PKK has been blamed on the deadly raids that claimed the lives of numerous Turkish troops. As a result, Nouri Maliki the Iraqi Prime Minster has said that he will “limit” the activities that threaten both Iraq and Turkey. During a meeting with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says that they may consider the option of sanctions on Iraq due to the activity of the PKK.
The United States is concerned in this matter as northern Iraq is the most stable part. They are concerned that military action on Turkey’s part may destabilize the region.
Maliki states after meeting Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan: “The PKK is a bad terrorist organization and we have taken a decision to close its offices and not allow them to work on Iraqi soil.”
At the same time, Babacan said that Turkey will focus on diplomacy rather than military action. A ceasefire with PKK was rejected as Babacan says that it’s not possible with a terrorist organization.
Erdogan states: “We may impose some sanctions with respect to some goods we export to Iraq.”
But there was no specification on what would be embargoed.
Erdogan finished off saying that if Baghdad fails to act, Turkey would use its military force against the PKK.