The Associated Press
Oct 13 2007
Rice Appeals for ‘Restraint’ by Turks
By C. ONUR ANT –
ISTANBUL, Turkey (AP) – Acknowledging "a difficult time" in relations
with Turkey, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Saturday appealed
to the U.S. ally for restraint against Kurdish rebels in northern
Iraq and in reaction to a genocide resolution in Congress.
The Bush administration sent two high-ranking officials to Turkey for
talks Saturday with government leaders. Eric Edelman is
undersecretary of defense for policy and was U.S. ambassador to
Turkey from July 2003 to June 2005. Dan Fried is assistant secretary
of state for European Affairs.
"It’s a difficult time for the relationship," Rice told reporters
during her trip to Russia.
U.S. officials said Friday there are about 60,000 Turkish troops
along the country’s southern border with Iraq. The U.S. military had
not seen activity to suggest an imminent offensive against Kurdish
rebels in northern Iraq.
But Turkey’s parliament was expected to approve a government request
to authorize an Iraq campaign as early as next week. The U.S. opposes
a possible Turkish incursion into northern Iraq, which is one of the
country’s few relatively stable areas, and urged a diplomatic
solution between Iraq and Turkey.
Kurdish rebels killed more than 15 Turkish soldiers in the past week
and are blamed for an ambush that killed 12 people the week before.
The government responded to the deaths by announcing tougher measures
against the rebel Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK.
The preparations come amid concern by the U.S. about what effect the
genocide resolution that passed a U.S. House committee this past week
could have on supply routes the American military has used to move
armored vehicles to troops in Iraq.
"I came here to express our regret (for the measure)," Edelman was
quoted as saying by private CNN-Turk television. The officials were
expected to discuss military plans against the rebels before leaving
the country later Saturday.
At issue in the measure is the killing of up to 1.5 million Armenians
by Ottoman Turks. Turkey denies that the World War I-era deaths
constituted genocide and says the toll has been inflated. Turkey also
contends the dead were victims of civil war and unrest that killed
Muslims as well as the overwhelmingly Christian Armenians.
Rice said she spoke Friday by telephone with Turkey’s president,
prime minister and foreign minister about the resolution. "They were
dismayed," she said.
In discussing their reaction to the resolution and activities of the
PKK in northern Iraq, she said, "I urged restraint."
"The Turkish government, I think, is trying to react responsibly.
They recognize how hard we worked to prevent that vote from taking
place," the secretary added.
Turkey has recalled its ambassador to Washington for consultations
and warned of serious repercussions if Congress passes the
resolution.
"We’ll continue to try to deal with anti-American sentiment that has
been heightened by this vote," Rice said. "We’ll keep working to try
to prevent it from winning on the floor."
The House Foreign Affairs Committee approved the nonbinding measure
by a 27-21 vote Wednesday, defying warnings by President Bush. The
administration, led by Rice and Defense Secretary Robert Gates,
warned lawmakers that passage of the resolution could put U.S. troops
in Iraq at risk.
Associated Press writer Matthew Lee in Moscow contributed to this
report.