ANKARA, Turkey, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki arrived in Turkey Wednesday to discuss bilateral relations and the fight against the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party.
"I have arrived for bilateral relations," the Shiite premier said. "I believe that we can carry our relations to higher levels."
Maliki said his government had supported a decision to form a trilateral committee with Turkey and the United States to tackle the issue of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which runs a guerrilla campaign in the region.
Several nations list the PKK as a terrorist organization. It operates in parts of northern Iraq, Turkey, Syria and Iran. The U.S. military in Iraq has offered intelligence on PKK activity in northern Iraq to Turkish forces.
Maliki is expected to discuss PKK progress with his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Turkish President Abdullah Gul, the Anatolian News Agency said.
The visit by the Iraqi premier follows earlier talks between Iraqi President Jalal Talabani and officials in the Kurdistan Regional Government on the PKK issue.
"A peaceful resolution is the only way," said the president, suggesting amnesty may be offered as an incentive for the group to lay down its weapons.
