|
Baghdad: Turkey declined on Wednesday to give Baghdad a timetable for the withdrawal of troops fighting Kurdish militants in northern Iraq, resisting pressure from the United States and other allies to end the offensive quickly.
"Our objective is clear, our mission is clear and there is no timetable until ... those terrorist bases are eliminated," Turkish envoy Ahmet Davutoglu told a news conference after talks in Baghdad with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari.
Thousands of Turkish troops crossed the border last week to root out PKK fighters. The PKK has used northern Iraq as a base for their fight for self-rule in the mainly Kurdish southeast of Turkey.
Acting Iraqi Prime Minister Barham Saleh said a prolonged Turkish operation would lead to "dire" consequences for the region and repeated Baghdad's demand that the incursion end.
'Dangerous situation'
"This would be highly destabilising, it's dangerous to the stability of Iraq and the region as a whole," Saleh, a Kurd, said on the sidelines of a conference. "This is a very dangerous, precarious situation."
Turkey's military General Staff said another 77 Kurdistan Workers Party rebels had been killed in heavy fighting since Tuesday night, taking the death toll among the rebels to 230 since the offensive began.
Send us your comments
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Gulf News may edit comments for length and clarity but will not change the tone of the message. Comments will only be accepted if all fields (including name) are filled correctly and the message isn't abusive, defamatory or offensive. The Gulf News website will only print your first name along with your comment. Please state in the message if you wish to remain anonymous. All comments sent may be forwarded for use in the Gulf News newspaper.
|
