Bush urges quick north Iraq exit -kathimerini
Bush urges quick north Iraq exit
But Turkey responds that offensive against Kurdish rebels will last for ‘as long as necessary’
AFP
General Chief of Staff Yasar Buyukanit (c) and PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a funeral for a soldier killed during an operation against the PKK, in Ankara yesterday.
ANKARA (AFP) – Turkey insisted yesterday that its offensive against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq will continue “as long as necessary,” while US President George W. Bush mounted pressure on Ankara to wrap up its incursion quickly.
As US Defense Secretary Robert Gates held talks in Ankara, Turkish warplanes bombed separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) positions in northern Iraq and intensive fighting was reported on the ground near a major rebel base.
Seven Kurdish rebels were killed during clashes on Wednesday, bringing to 237 the number of separatist fighters killed in a week of fighting, the Turkish army reported yesterday.
In Washington, Bush said the incursion, launched on February 21, should be “limited and... temporary in nature.” He urged the Turkish military “to move quickly, achieve their objective and then get out... as quickly as possible.”
Speaking after meeting with Gates earlier, Turkish Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul refused to give a timetable for a pull-out.
“Turkey will remain in northern Iraq as long as necessary” and the troops will return home once PKK hideouts are destroyed, he told reporters.
“There is no need for us to stay there after we finish (off) the terrorist infrastructure... We have no intention to interfere in (Iraqi) domestic politics, no intention to occupy any area,” he said.
Gates had said Tuesday the offensive should last no longer than “a week or two” but Turkish army chief Yasar Buyukanit made it clear that Ankara would not be constrained by deadlines.
“A short time is a relative term. Sometimes this can mean one day and sometimes one year,” he said after talks with Gates, adding that the United States has been fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan “for years.”
Gates played down suggestions that the United States could cut off the intelligence supply if Turkey refuses to withdraw quickly.
“We have shared interests and I think those interests are probably not advanced by making threats or by threatening to cut intelligence,” he said.
As Gates flew back to Washington, he told reporters on his plane he discussed no date for withdrawal in Ankara but “I think they got our message.” Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell added: “They made it clear they believe it is in their interest to accomplish this operation quickly. But they also wish to accomplish the objectives they set out to.” Gates, who also met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul, urged Ankara to back up military action with political and economic gestures to the sizeable Kurdish community.
“That’s the only way to isolate terrorism from the population and provide a long-term solution,” he said.
But Turkey responds that offensive against Kurdish rebels will last for ‘as long as necessary’
AFP
General Chief of Staff Yasar Buyukanit (c) and PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a funeral for a soldier killed during an operation against the PKK, in Ankara yesterday.
ANKARA (AFP) – Turkey insisted yesterday that its offensive against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq will continue “as long as necessary,” while US President George W. Bush mounted pressure on Ankara to wrap up its incursion quickly.
As US Defense Secretary Robert Gates held talks in Ankara, Turkish warplanes bombed separatist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) positions in northern Iraq and intensive fighting was reported on the ground near a major rebel base.
Seven Kurdish rebels were killed during clashes on Wednesday, bringing to 237 the number of separatist fighters killed in a week of fighting, the Turkish army reported yesterday.
In Washington, Bush said the incursion, launched on February 21, should be “limited and... temporary in nature.” He urged the Turkish military “to move quickly, achieve their objective and then get out... as quickly as possible.”
Speaking after meeting with Gates earlier, Turkish Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul refused to give a timetable for a pull-out.
“Turkey will remain in northern Iraq as long as necessary” and the troops will return home once PKK hideouts are destroyed, he told reporters.
“There is no need for us to stay there after we finish (off) the terrorist infrastructure... We have no intention to interfere in (Iraqi) domestic politics, no intention to occupy any area,” he said.
Gates had said Tuesday the offensive should last no longer than “a week or two” but Turkish army chief Yasar Buyukanit made it clear that Ankara would not be constrained by deadlines.
“A short time is a relative term. Sometimes this can mean one day and sometimes one year,” he said after talks with Gates, adding that the United States has been fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan “for years.”
Gates played down suggestions that the United States could cut off the intelligence supply if Turkey refuses to withdraw quickly.
“We have shared interests and I think those interests are probably not advanced by making threats or by threatening to cut intelligence,” he said.
As Gates flew back to Washington, he told reporters on his plane he discussed no date for withdrawal in Ankara but “I think they got our message.” Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell added: “They made it clear they believe it is in their interest to accomplish this operation quickly. But they also wish to accomplish the objectives they set out to.” Gates, who also met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul, urged Ankara to back up military action with political and economic gestures to the sizeable Kurdish community.
“That’s the only way to isolate terrorism from the population and provide a long-term solution,” he said.
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