Mainstream news

[kurdeng at aps.nl]

From: tabe at newsdesk.aps.nl
Subject: Mainstream news
Reply-To: kurdeng at aps.nl

22:20:23 -0800

EU welcomes end of Turk incursion into Iraq

PARIS, May 9 (Reuter) - The European Union on Tuesday welcomed the end of
Turkey's six-week incursion against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq but called
on Ankara to pay more attention to its human rights record in general.

"The European Union...noted with satisfaction the announcement that Turkey
would withdraw all its forces from northern Iraq," said an EU statement issued
by the French foreign ministry. Paris now holds the EU's rotating six-month
presidency. "(But) the Union hopes Ankara will likewise take into account and
in the same fashion the other preoccupations expressed by the EU over the last
months concerning democratic process and human rights," the statement said.

Progress in those fields would create better conditions for improved economic
ties between Turkey and EU member states, especially concerning the
implementation of a customs accord, the EU said.