Turkey: No timetable for troops withdrawal

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Source: CCTV.com | 02-28-2008 09:02

Turkey has declined to give Baghdad a timetable for the withdrawal of its troops fighting Kurdish guerrillas in northern Iraq.

After talks with Iraqi officials Wednesday, Turkish envoy Ahmet Davutoglu(L)said Turkey will not set a  timetable for the withdrawal of its troops fighting the PKK in Iraq.(CCTV.com)

Turkey is resisting pressure from the US and other allies to end the offensive quickly.

After talks with Iraqi officials Wednesday, Turkish envoy Ahmet Davutoglu said Turkey will not set a timetable for the withdrawal of its troops fighting the PKK in Iraq.

Iraqi leaders warned that a prolonged offensive would lead to "dire" consequences for the region and repeated Baghdad's demand that the incursion end.

Turkey's envoy argues that continuing operations is not a violation of Iraqi sovereignty but is in fact the opposite.

He says it's a restoration of Iraqi sovereignty in the areas where the PKK is active.

Ahmet Davutoglu, Senior Turkish Envoy, said, "Our objective is clear, our mission is clear and there is no timetable until those terrorist bases [there, which can not be neither by the Iraqi government, nor by us, nor by the international community until these terrorists bases are been] are eliminated."

Meanwhile, US defense Secretary Robert Gates arrived in Turkey Wednesday. He is expected to hold talks with Turkish officials.

Gates says Turkey must limit its operations to days rather than months.

The US is providing significant intelligence to Turkey.

And reports say if Ankara does not heed Washington's call to complete the operation quickly the US could curtail or cut off the intelligence flow.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei