Azernews.Az

The Azerbaijani government has voiced concern over the potential threat posed by Kurdish rebel group PKK.
Deputy Foreign Minister Araz Azimov said there were reports suggesting that PKK was approaching the country.
"We are having to watch the PKK activity more closely due to the problems recently faced by Turkey. According to the data received from various sources, this organization is approaching our country," the deputy minister told Radio Liberty.
The statement came after his talks on cooperation in anti-terror combat with US State Department's acting coordinator for counterterrorism Frank Urbancic in Baku that included the PKK issue.
"We have discussed the issue with a number of European countries so far, but this is the first time we are talking about it with Azerbaijan," the US embassy spokesman Johnatan Henick said, adding that the talks currently aimed to collect relevant information.
Reports circulated at the weekend quoting the Israeli secret service that PKK militants started to flock in Armenia and the occupied territories of Azerbaijan after the Turkish military carried out anti-terror operations inside Iraq and the borderline territories. Warlords have chosen the occupied Lachin and Fuzuli districts as their stronghold.
Azimov said PKK's links to other international and regional terrorist groups should be investigated as well, as its members could forge ties with other organizations hostile to Turkey and Azerbaijan.
During the talks, Baku suggested to Washington comprehensively researching the roots of terror and taking action to eradicate it. The two countries are also discussing ways of countering terror funding and money laundering.
"All these issues are being discussed with the U.S. both on a bilateral level and within international organizations," Azimov said, adding that another round of US-Azeri talks on security issues would be held in the summer.
Urbancic told the press after meeting Azimov that Washington backed all anti-terror programs being implemented by Azerbaijan. He said the U.S. was ready to provide all the needed assistance in this area.
The State Department official visited Baku last week to outline areas of future cooperation with Azerbaijan in fighting terror.
Azerbaijan has been a member of the international anti-terror coalition since 2001.
The Foreign Ministry spokesman Khazar Ibrahim has said Azerbaijan could seek international support to combat PKK. He said Baku's concerns over the PKK threat should be taken seriously.
"Azerbaijan will take concrete steps if it sees a direct and substantial threat to its national security," the spokesman said.
Ibrahim said Baku was unable to control the occupied territories for objective reasons. He said that if need be, the Azerbaijani government would appeal to an international fact-finding mission to scrutinize the data regarding the PKK threat.
"Azerbaijan could struggle against PKK in Upper Garabagh both on its own and jointly with other states," the spokesman said.
Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper reported late in 2007 that PKK had decided to relocate to Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh, an Azeri region under Armenian occupation, after tensions escalated in northern Iraq with the launch of Turkey's battles against the extremists.
The PKK, which was earlier based in Syria and was driven out under Turkey's pressure, has now decided to withdraw from Iraq. The terrorists intend to relocate to a European country and then to Upper Garabagh. PKK members have forged ties with the Armenian Diaspora to materialize the plan, Hurriyet said.
PKK has long been using the South Caucasus as a stronghold for its illegal activities. In addition to drug trafficking, the outlaws are carrying out smuggling of laundered money in the region with the aid of ethnic Armenian terrorists, according to the reports. In the past years Armenians have arranged the settlement of a number of ethnic Kurds who come from Iraq and Syria in Upper Garabagh.
The Turkish media also said PKK was actively involved in hostilities and acts of terror perpetrated by Armenia against Azerbaijan, alongside Armenian terrorist organization ASALA. In May-June 1992, 40 PKK terrorists took part in military action against Azerbaijanis in Upper Garabagh.
A group of Azerbaijani lawmakers has said PKK posed a threat to national security, suggesting that the group be officially recognized as a terrorist organization, a move that has not been taken thus far.