Gates urged Turkey to use restraint -- "not to be confused with weakness" -- before launching a cross-border operation to hit the bases of the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

After talks with Turkish Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul, Gates said: "I'm heartened that he seems to be implying a reluctance on their part to act unilaterally, and I think that's a good thing."

"I didn't have the impression that anything was immient," he added.

For his part, Gonul said that Turkey has plans to make a cross-border incursion to attack Kurdish rebel bases in Iraq but "not urgently."

He also told reporters after the talks with Gates that there were "no hostages" being held by rebels of the PKK, listed as a terrorist organisation by Ankara and other nations including the United States.

On Sunday the PKK claimed to have captured a group of Turkish soldiers in the volatile region on the Turkey-Iraq border following heavy clashes that left 12 Turkish soldiers and 32 rebels dead.

Turkey is leaning toward invading northern Iraq to strike at hostile Kurdish rebels based there -- a move vehemently opposed by Washington, which is fighting an uphill battle to stabilise Iraq.

"A major cross-border operation would be contrary to Turkish interests as well as our own and that of Iraq," said Gates, who Sunday began a week's visit to Europe.

Late Sunday Ankara issued a strong statement following emergency talks between Turkish civilian and military leaders, chaired by President Abdullah Gul, to determine Turkey's response against the rebels after the deadly ambush on Turkish soldiers in the Kurdish-dominated southeast.

"Although it respects Iraq's territorial integrity, Turkey will not tolerate that terrorism be aided and abetted and will not be afraid to pay, whatever the price may be, to protect its rights, its indivisible unity and its citizens," said the statement.

The Turkish parliament Wednesday authorised military operations in northern Iraq for a one-year period to hit bases of the PKK, which uses the region as a springboard for attacks in Turkey.

Ankara says the PKK enjoys free movement in northern Iraq and even support from the Iraqi Kurds who govern the region.

The talks between the US and Turkish defence chiefs came after a US congressional committee exacerbated the already strained US-Turkish ties through a motion to brand as genocide the wartime massacre of Armenians by the erstwhile Ottoman empire.

Turkish criticism of Washington, already under fire for not cooperating against the PKK, has increased after it emerged that US weapons given to Iraq have ended up in PKK hands.

Gates's meeting with Gonul was part of a series of high-stakes meetings he will hold in Europe on a slew of key issues, including Washington's planned anti-missile installations in eastern Europe.

Gates will meet Ukraine's Western-leaning President Viktor Yushchenko on Monday and seek his backing for the missile shield plans in the face of fierce opposition from neighbouring Russia, a US official said.

Yushchenko, who has struggled with challenges from political rivals more sympathetic to Moscow, has ruled out hosting any US missile shield facility in Ukraine but has not condemned the plan.

On Tuesday Gates visits the Czech Republic, where the United States aims to install a radar station as part of the shield against possible missile attacks from countries such as Iran and North Korea.

"We hope to conclude negotiations with the Czech Republic before the end of the year," a Pentagon official said.

Most Czechs oppose the plan for a radar on their soil, part of a system that would also include 10 interceptor missiles in Poland.

Also in Kiev, Gates will sit down with his counterparts from European countries aspiring to join the NATO military bloc, including Croatia, Macedonia and Albania, as well as Ukraine.

On Wednesday and Thursday Gates will be in the Netherlands for an informal meeting of NATO defence ministers, where he is expected to ask member countries to send more troops to the international force in Afghanistan.

His tour wraps up Friday with a visit to Heidelberg, Germany, where the US Army has its European headquarters.

Community
Email This Article
Comment On This Article

Related Links
News From Across The Stans

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS Solar Energy Solutions Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ... Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News