ANKARA, TURKEY — Turkey's foreign minister Friday urged the Bush administration to replace its words with action, as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived here for emergency meetings aimed at persuading Turkey not to attack Kurdish militants based in northern Iraq.
Foreign Minister Ali Babacan, expressing his country's frustration with continuing rebel attacks, declared that "we need action. . . . This is where the words end and the action needs to start."
With Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan scheduled to meet President Bush in the White House on Monday, Rice came with hopes of setting a diplomatic path for easing the conflict between the Turks, the Kurdish militant group known as the PKK, and the Kurdish regional government in Iraq that Turks accuse of supporting the militants.
But Babacan made it clear that his government, which has agreed to hold off cross-border attacks at Rice's request, does not want to continue a three-way conversation unless there are strong prospects of finding a solution to the situation.
"Our expectations of the United States are very high," he said at a news conference with Rice. "We need to work on making things happen."
What is needed is a strategy "that combines both political will and action," he said.
Cooperation urged
Rice, who also met with Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul, said the Turks, U.S. officials and Iraqi authorities needed to work together against a "common enemy," and should develop a systematic approach to closing down the PKK instead of lashing out with force in an effort that could fall short.
The secretary remained vague about the plan she is advocating behind the scenes. She did not specify what role she wants Kurdish regional authorities in Iraq to play against the PKK. She said Americans, Turks and Iraqis need a "comprehensive approach."
Rice said that "no one should doubt the United States' commitment" to deal with the problem.
She pointed out that U.S. spy planes had begun collecting information on the PKK, or Kurdistan Workers Party, in remote mountains where they hide, and reports have been delivered to Turkish authorities.
In Washington, Turkish Ambassador Nabi Sensoy said Ankara expected concrete action on three fronts: shutting down five active PKK bases in Iraq; cutting logistics and support lines that continue to supply PKK fighters in Iraq; and blocking movement of PKK members and their political affiliates in northern Iraq, where he said they frequently appear on local TV.
