ARMENIAN EXPERT DOES NOT EXCLUDE THAT IRAN CAN HAMPER TURKISH TROOPS’ INVADING INTO NORTH IRAQ
Noyan Tapan
Oct 23, 2007
YEREVAN, OCTOBER 23, NOYAN TAPAN. Iran can hamper possible invasion
of Turkish troops into North Iraq. Independent expert Sergei
Shakariants stated at the October 23 press conference. According
to him, the Turkish military elite is waiting for manifestation of
official Tehran’s position in the issue of possible invasion of North
Iraq. However, official Tehran is known not to have expressed its
attitude yet to the events near the Turkish-Iraqi border.
"When Turks say that they expect concrete steps from the U.S. or the
Iraqi government, they are lying. Indeed they are looking at Iran,
which has always put obstacles in their way in the issue of invading
into the territory of North Iraq," the expert stated. He mentioned
that in 2003 and 2005, parallel with aggravation of the situation
on the Turkish-Iraqi border, Iranian army’s subdivisions started to
move along eastern borders of Turkey. According to S. Shakariants,
the reason of Iran’s such conduct was its being not interested in
possibility of Turkey’s taking control of Iraqi populated areas,
Kirkuk and Mosul rich in oil.
He did not exclude the fact that the U.S. can involve Iran into
the conflict between Turkey and Kurdish militants. In particular,
an occasion for this can be the flight of one of Kurdish detachments
to Iran and its further stay in its territory.
It should be mentioned that the situation has aggravated on the
Turkish-Iraqi border lately. In this connection the Turkish parliament
has already approved a governmental bill allowing the army to perform
a military operation against Kurdish militants in North Iraq within a
year. Turkey blames the Iraqi government for its being insufficiently
active in neutralization of Kurdish militants quartered in the north
regions of the country, from where they make armed sallies upon the
Turkish territory.