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October 13, 2007
Rice Urges Turkey to Show Restraint
By REUTERS
Filed at 2:25 p.m. ET
MOSCOW/ANKARA (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
said on Saturday she had urged Turkey to refrain from any major
military operation in northern Iraq.
"I urged restraint," Rice, on a visit to Moscow, told reporters of her
telephone conversations on Friday with Turkey's president, prime
minister and foreign minister.
Two senior U.S. officials met Turkish officials in Ankara to try to
ease strains after a Congressional resolution branded as genocide
massacres of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915.
Some analysts believe the vote could weaken Washington's influence on
fellow NATO member Turkey and increase the likelihood of a Turkish
incursion into northern Iraq to crush Kurdish rebels.
Rice said she told the Turkish officials "that we all have an interest
in a stable Iraq and that anything that is destabilizing is going to
be to the detriment of both of our interests."
Rice acknowledged strains following the U.S. Congressional committee
vote on the Armenian massacres. The Bush administration would strive
to stop it being approved by the full U.S. Congress, she said.
"It is a tough time," she told reporters. "It's not an easy time for
the relationship and it was perfectly predictable."
In Ankara, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Dan Fried and
Undersecretary of Defense Eric Edelman faced criticism from Turkish
officials over the resolution. Turkey recalled its ambassador to the
United States for consultations this week.
"We told him (Edelman) that if the resolution passed in the House it
would lead to irreparable damage in our relationship with the United
States," a high-level Turkish diplomatic source who attended the
meeting told Reuters.
The source, who declined to be named, said Turkish-U.S. cooperation
within NATO would also be damaged.
Turkish diplomatic sources said Edelman had promised to remind Iraq of
their obligations under the United Nations charter to protect their
borders and fight terrorism.
The possibility of a major Turkish military incursion into northern
Iraq is troubling to U.S. officials, who fear this could destabilize a
relatively peaceful area of Iraq.
Edelman also held talks with deputy chief of general staff, General
Ergin Saygun, a Turkish diplomat said.
The Turkish government is to seek approval from parliament next week
for a major operation against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants
based in the mountains of northern Iraq.
The House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee approved on
Wednesday a resolution labeling the 1915 killings genocide. Turkey
denies genocide but says many died in inter-ethnic fighting.
CONFERENCE CANCELLED
Turkish officials say foreign ministry and military officials met
after the resolution was approved to discuss potential measures
against the United States.
In initial repercussions, a U.S. visit by Trade Minister Kursad Tuzmen
was cancelled, along with a conference being held by the Turkish-U.S.
Business Council in the United States.
Other potential moves may include blocking U.S. access to Incirlik air
base, cancelling procurement contracts, downscaling bilateral visits,
denying airspace to U.S. aircraft, and halting joint military
exercises, analysts and diplomats say.
The United States relies heavily on Turkish bases to supply its war
effort in Iraq, where more than 160,000 U.S. troops are trying to
restore stability more than four years after the invasion that toppled
former dictator Saddam Hussein.
Ankara has long complained Washington has not done enough on its own
or through the Iraqi government to crack down on PKK rebels who use
northern Iraq as a base to attack Turkey.
The PKK said on Friday its guerrillas were crossing back into Turkey
to target politicians and police after the prospect of a cross-border
military operation emerged.
Turkey blames the PKK for the deaths of more than 30,000 people since
the group launched its armed struggle for an ethnic homeland in
southeast Turkey in 1984.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international -turkey-iraq.html
Rice Urges Turkey to Show Restraint
By REUTERS
Filed at 2:25 p.m. ET
MOSCOW/ANKARA (Reuters) - U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice
said on Saturday she had urged Turkey to refrain from any major
military operation in northern Iraq.
"I urged restraint," Rice, on a visit to Moscow, told reporters of her
telephone conversations on Friday with Turkey's president, prime
minister and foreign minister.
Two senior U.S. officials met Turkish officials in Ankara to try to
ease strains after a Congressional resolution branded as genocide
massacres of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915.
Some analysts believe the vote could weaken Washington's influence on
fellow NATO member Turkey and increase the likelihood of a Turkish
incursion into northern Iraq to crush Kurdish rebels.
Rice said she told the Turkish officials "that we all have an interest
in a stable Iraq and that anything that is destabilizing is going to
be to the detriment of both of our interests."
Rice acknowledged strains following the U.S. Congressional committee
vote on the Armenian massacres. The Bush administration would strive
to stop it being approved by the full U.S. Congress, she said.
"It is a tough time," she told reporters. "It's not an easy time for
the relationship and it was perfectly predictable."
In Ankara, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Dan Fried and
Undersecretary of Defense Eric Edelman faced criticism from Turkish
officials over the resolution. Turkey recalled its ambassador to the
United States for consultations this week.
"We told him (Edelman) that if the resolution passed in the House it
would lead to irreparable damage in our relationship with the United
States," a high-level Turkish diplomatic source who attended the
meeting told Reuters.
The source, who declined to be named, said Turkish-U.S. cooperation
within NATO would also be damaged.
Turkish diplomatic sources said Edelman had promised to remind Iraq of
their obligations under the United Nations charter to protect their
borders and fight terrorism.
The possibility of a major Turkish military incursion into northern
Iraq is troubling to U.S. officials, who fear this could destabilize a
relatively peaceful area of Iraq.
Edelman also held talks with deputy chief of general staff, General
Ergin Saygun, a Turkish diplomat said.
The Turkish government is to seek approval from parliament next week
for a major operation against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants
based in the mountains of northern Iraq.
The House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee approved on
Wednesday a resolution labeling the 1915 killings genocide. Turkey
denies genocide but says many died in inter-ethnic fighting.
CONFERENCE CANCELLED
Turkish officials say foreign ministry and military officials met
after the resolution was approved to discuss potential measures
against the United States.
In initial repercussions, a U.S. visit by Trade Minister Kursad Tuzmen
was cancelled, along with a conference being held by the Turkish-U.S.
Business Council in the United States.
Other potential moves may include blocking U.S. access to Incirlik air
base, cancelling procurement contracts, downscaling bilateral visits,
denying airspace to U.S. aircraft, and halting joint military
exercises, analysts and diplomats say.
The United States relies heavily on Turkish bases to supply its war
effort in Iraq, where more than 160,000 U.S. troops are trying to
restore stability more than four years after the invasion that toppled
former dictator Saddam Hussein.
Ankara has long complained Washington has not done enough on its own
or through the Iraqi government to crack down on PKK rebels who use
northern Iraq as a base to attack Turkey.
The PKK said on Friday its guerrillas were crossing back into Turkey
to target politicians and police after the prospect of a cross-border
military operation emerged.
Turkey blames the PKK for the deaths of more than 30,000 people since
the group launched its armed struggle for an ethnic homeland in
southeast Turkey in 1984.
Source: http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international -turkey-iraq.html