Iraqi President Jalal Talabani slammed his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad's support for a possible Turkish incursion into northern Iraq to tackle Kurdish rebels, a newspaper said on Saturday. "President Assad's remarks are dangerous and run contrary to the spirit of Arab solidarity," Talabani, himself a Kurd, was quoted as saying in an interview with the Saudi daily Asharq Al-Awsat. "Usually I would refrain from commenting on Syrian positions in order to preserve our historic ties, but this time I am unable to support this dangerous crossing of red lines."On Wednesday Assad said he would support a Turkish incursion into northern Iraq against Turkish Kurdish rebels, calling such action Ankara's "legitimate right."
| If it's a "legitimate right," then the question's not even open to discussion anymore. |
On Wednesday the Turkish parliament authorised military strikes in Kurdish-held northern Iraq within a year against bases of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which uses the region as a springboard for attacks on Turkish targets across the border. "I have personally visited Syria, and our two countries have joint commissions working on current projects. I am really astounded at this unfriendly stance taken by Syria," Talabani told the daily.