Turkey's leadership will hold off on ordering an offensive against Kurdish guerrilla bases in northern Iraq until the prime minister visits Washington early next month, the military chief said Friday.
Turkey's military chief said yesterday that Ankara will delay a decision on whether to launch a cross-border offensive into Iraq until after Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan meets here with President Bush 10 days from now. "We will wait for his return," Gen. Yasar Buyukanit told reporters...
The talks aim to avert an incursion by Turkey's military into northern Iraq to fight Kurdish separatist rebels.
An Iraqi diplomat said that no progress was made in talks with Turkish officials Friday in Ankara about the Iraqi-Turkey border situation and that the Iraqi delegation planned to head back home.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is scheduled to meet President George W. Bush in Washington on Nov. 5 for talks on Turkey's threat to send troops to fight Kurdish separatists who have attacked Turkish forces from Iraq.
Turkey will wait until the prime minister visits Washington in November before deciding on a cross-border offensive into northern Iraq, the country's top military commander said Friday.
Turkey demanded that the Iraqi government extradite Kurdish rebel leaders based in northern Iraq. Turkish warplanes and helicopters, meanwhile, reportedly bombed separatist hideouts.
Turkey rejected on Friday Iraqi proposals to stop Kurdish rebels making cross-border attacks as too little, too late and said it remained in a "constant state of alert."
Turkey said Friday that it is not satisfied with proposals that Baghdad submitted at crisis talks here to avert a Turkish military strike against Kurd rebels in northern Iraq.
Turkey demanded the extradition of Kurdish rebel leaders based in Iraq's north on Friday, Turkish deputy prime minister said Friday after meeting with an Iraqi delegation. Turkish war planes and helicopters, meanwhile, bombed separatist hideouts within Turkey's borders, state-run media reported.