Assad backs Ankara in PKK fight

DAMASCUS, Syria, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- Damascus will be a strong partner with Ankara in its fight against Kurdish militants, the Turkish prime minister said.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Syrian President Bashar Assad in Damascus for a one-day state visit. Erdogan told reporters during a news conference that both Arab neighbors were concerned about the well -being of the region, particularly considering developments in Iraq.

Erdogan said the Syrian president restated his commitment to helping Ankara address security issues related to the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

Erdogan said that Assad "put forth his determination (to see that happen)," he was quoted by Turkish daily newspaper Hurriyet as saying.

Turkish lawmakers are debating a measure to extend a mandate for cross-border raids into Iraq in pursuit of the PKK. The current mandate expires Sunday.

U.S. military officials supplied Ankara with sensitive intelligence about the PKK in northern Iraq. The Turkish military launched a series of offensives against the PKK starting in 2007.

Parliament has approved a cross-border mandate twice since formal permission was granted in 2007.

The PKK launched its campaign from the border regions of Iraq, Syria, Turkey and Iran in 1984. Ankara tried to deal with the PKK issue through diplomatic aims last year, though the effort fizzled after a court dissolved a pro-Kurdish party for its ties to the Kurdish militant group.