Visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahimal-Jaafari said on Friday that his country faced no terrorist threat from neighboring Turkey.
Jaafari's remarks is contrary to the claims of the Iraqi Foreign Minister Hosiar Zebari who had previously stated that terrorist threats came from all of Iraq's neighbors, semi-official Anatolia News Agency reported.
Jaafari called on Iraq's neighboring countries on Thursday to prevent foreign militants from crossing the border into Iraq. The report quoted diplomatic officials as saying that Jaafari's visit to Turkey with six ministers, his first foreign trip since taking office early this month, shows the importance Jaafari attaches to Turkey.
Among the subjects discussed with Jaafari was the training of Iraqi security forces by Turkish police and military. It is reported that Turkish authorities sent Jaafari a list of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) militants active in Iraq and reminded Turkey's concerns to Jaafari.
On the other hand, the issue of opening consulate generals in Mosul and Istanbul also came up during discussions.
(Xinhua News Agency May 21, 2005)
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