Iraqi PM to visit Turkey and Iran next week

BAGHDAD, Aug 3 (Reuters) Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki will visit neighbouring Turkey and Iran next week for talks which will focus on security, his spokesman said.

''He is going on Tuesday to Turkey for one day, and then to Iran,'' said spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh.

Security issues will be paramount, with Maliki expected to discuss the presence of separatist PKK Kurdish guerrillas in northern Iraq with Turkish officials.

Turkey has threatened a military incursion to crush thousands of PKK guerrillas it believes use the mountainous region as a base.

''There will be calls for efforts to solve this matter. The Iraqi government will ease the Turkish worry. We want relations with our neighbour on its best levels,'' Dabbagh said.

The visit to Shi'ite Muslim Iran will be Maliki's second since his Shi'ite Alliance took power last year. Washington and Baghdad accuse Iran of meddling in Iraq's affairs and promoting violence there.

''The security file will also be a priority in Iran,'' Dabbagh said.

Iran denies accusations it supports Shi'ite militias in Iraq with weapons and training and says the presence of US forces in the country is to blame for the violence.

Reuters SYU DB1824