Foreign ministry details changes to trilateral anti-terrorism mechanism

Some changes have been made to a key branch of the trilateral mechanism between Turkey, US and Iraq to fight the terrorist PKK so it can have operations in Erbil, said Foreign Ministry spokesperson Burak Ozuergin yesterday. At a press conference, Ozuergin stated that Interior Minister Besir Atalay chairs the main committee of the trilateral mechanism which convenes every three months, adding that officials from the General Staff and Turkish military attaché's office and embassy in Baghdad were attending monthly meetings of a subcommittee. In related news, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan and his US counterpart Hillary Clinton spoke on the telephone yesterday. During the conversation, Clinton praised Turkey's leading role in its region and beyond. The two top officials expressed mutual will to cooperate on various foreign policy fronts and voiced their views on issues such as the Middle East, the Caucasus, Middle Asia, the Balkans and energy. They also spoke about US Special Middle East Envoy George Mitchell's visit to Turkey starting today. Babacan and Clinton are also expected to have a bilateral meeting during a summit on Gaza's reconstruction next Thursday in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.