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Rice urges patience over Kurd question |
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Written by The Financial Times
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Friday, 02 November 2007 |
Turkey and the US struggled on Friday to develop a common approach to dealing with Kurdish rebels at the start of four days of intensive diplomacy aimed at dissuading Ankara from sending its army into Iraq.
Condoleezza Rice, US secretary of state, said patience and perseverance were needed to deal with PKK Kurdish separatist guerrilla fighters attacking Turkey from bases in Iraq. She said the PKK was "a common enemy" to Turks, Americans and Iraqis.
After meeting Turkish leaders in Ankara, Ms Rice said: "We all need to redouble our efforts and the United States is committed to redoubling our efforts" to fight the PKK. The group, which the US, Turkey and the European Union have branded a terrorist organisation, has killed almost 50 Turkish soldiers and civilians in recent weeks in the predominantly Kurdish region of southeastern Turkey bordering Iraq.
However, Ali Babacan, Turkey's foreign minister, warned: "This is where the words end and action needs to start."
Ms Rice is due to attend a conference of Iraq's neighbours in Istanbul on Saturday that is being overshadowed by the crisis on the Turkish-Iraqi border. Ankara has massed up to 100,000 troops there and has threatened to launch a large-scale cross-border incursion if the US and Iraq are not able to close the PKK bases.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's prime minister, is due in Washington on Monday for talks with George W. Bush, US president, seen as critical to forestalling a Turkish military incursion. Mr Erdogan said Ankara was considering "an operation, not a war" across the Iraqi border and said he hoped such a development would not be necessary.
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