Iraq's KRG 'concerned' by terrorist PKK actions

By Mazin Majeed Asaad Baqal

ERBIL, Iraq (AA) – Actions by the PKK terrorist group are a "concern" for northern Iraq's Kurdish Regional Government (KRG), Sefin Dizayi, KRG spokesman, said Monday.

"We do not want the PKK to use our land as a base to threaten our neighbors," Dizayi to Anadolu Agency.

He said the PKK terrorist organization has been using different names to cover up its actions.

The spokesman cited the PKK and other terrorist groups as the main reason for the continuing conflicts in the region.

"Threatening the security and stability of the KRG and its neighbors is unacceptable,” he said.

Dizayi described a recent meeting between KRG President Nechirvan Barzani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on June 21 as "very fruitful".

“It was an important meeting not only for political relations but also for economic ties between two sides," he said.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU -- has been responsible for the deaths of nearly 40,000 people, including many women and children.

On May 28, Barzani was elected president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, where he had previously served as prime minister for two terms.

*Writing by Busra Nur Bilgic