Iraqi President Jalal Talabani has called on Turkey to declare a general amnesty to the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), Turkish Daily News reported on Thursday.

A general amnesty by the Turkish authorities would be the best way to deal with the PKK problem, Talabani was quoted as saying on Wednesday.

Talabani, meanwhile, called on the PKK, designated as terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union ( EU), to respond to Turkey's recent attitude which he said was " very positive", said the report.

Turkey is pressing the United States and Iraq to crack down on PKK bases in the mountains of the Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq, but the United States says it is too busy with the insurgency in other parts of the country.

The Americans are also encouraging a Turkish-Iraqi cooperation to fight the terrorist group, paving the way for comments in the Turkish media that Turkey and Iraqi Kurds might be partners on the issue of the PKK.

Turkish frustration has been growing since summer, when the PKK called off a cease-fire it had declared five years ago.

Since then, more than a thousand militants are believed to have infiltrated Turkey from their bases in northern Iraq and violence has resurged in Turkey, which has killed at least 200 Turkish soldiers this year.

Source: Xinhua