Turk FM calls for more support in fight against PKK

"Fight against terrorism is a lengthy struggle and we expect stronger support and solidarity from the international community and the western countries," Ali Babacan told reporters in Berlin before he left for Turkey.

Babacan said there were several groups in Europe which were trying to harvest support for the PKK, listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and much of the international community, including the EU and the U.S..

"We are talking about this issue with our counterparts and they do understand our concerns. But are their counter efforts sufficient? The answer is 'no.' More should be done," Babacan was quoted by the Anatolian Agency as saying.

Babacan met his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Berlin earlier on Friday.

In the meeting, Turkish foreign misiter informed Steinmeier about Turkey-mediated indirect peace talks between Israel and Syria, the Anatolian Agency reported.

Steinmeier said a meeting on Middle East would be held in Berlin on June 24 which would also be participated by Turkey, the agency added.

JOINT UNIVERSITY

The foreign ministers also inked an agreement to open a joint university in Istanbul by late 2009 to bolster cultural and political ties between the two countries on Friday.

The German-Turkish University is to accept about 5,000 students for courses in German, English and Turkish on the social sciences, engineering, jurisprudence and the natural sciences, the AFP reported, adding graduates will hold degrees recognised in both Germany and Turkey.

Steinmeier described the planned university as "a further symbol of the close political and social ties between our two countries."

Babacan said the project would "advance the good relations between Germany and Turkey" and called for support from the business community and civil society for the university.

The institution is the centrepiece of the Ernst Reuter Initiative launched in September 2006 by Steinmeier and his Turkish counterpart at the time, Abdullah Gul, during violent international protests over caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed printed in European newspapers.

Reuter was a leading Social Democrat who sought refuge from the Nazis in Turkey during World War II. In 1947 he was elected mayor of Berlin.

Some 2.5 million people of Turkish origin live in Germany -- the largest immigrant group in the country.

Photo: AFP