Mr. Talabani met with a group of Turkish entrepreneurs Saturday on the final day of a two-day visit to Ankara. He told the group that Iraq wants to establish relations in every area, including economic, political and cultural.

The president says Baghdad is prepared to support Turkish companies in every region of the country, including southern Iraq and its northern Kurdish region.

Mr. Talabani is in Turkey to ease tensions caused by last month's Turkish military offensive against rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq. Baghdad criticized the air and ground operation as a violation of Iraqi sovereignty.

In a gesture to Turkey, Mr. Talabani said Baghdad has ordered northern Iraq's Kurdish government to pressure PKK rebels into giving up their weapons. He says Iraq will not allow the PKK to use its territory to stage attacks on a neighboring country such as Turkey.

Mr. Talabani, an Iraqi Kurd, did not receive a full state welcome on his arrival at Ankara's airport. Some Turkish officials accuse Iraqi Kurdish leaders of not doing enough to crack down on PKK rebels blamed for deadly attacks in southeastern Turkey.

Source: By VOA News