Presidents of Turkey and Iraq to visit Kirkuk on Dec 20
Hurriyet
Turkish President Abdullah Gul will visit Kirkuk together with with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani on Dec. 20, broadcaster NTV reported on Friday.
Presidential sources had earlier confirmed the visit was on the agenda, but had not given a clear date.
Talabani, himself a Kurd, reiterated his invitation to the Turkish president during their meeting in New York on the sidelines of a session of the U.N. General Assembly in September.
Turkey has intensified its direct contacts with both Iraqi central government and the regional Kurdish administration in northern Iraq to discuss the possible measures that can be taken in the fight against the terror organization PKK.
Turkey, who has also stepped up its campaign to crackdown on the PKK, has long blamed the Kurdish administration in northern Iraq for supporting the PKK and refused to hold contacts.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul sent a message of condolence to Talabani Friday harshly condemning Thursday’s suicide attack conducted on a crowded Kurdish restaurant in Kirkuk that killed 55 and injured 93 others.
Source: arama.hurriyet.com.tr/arsivnews.aspx?id=10556136