Time for action, says Turkey

Ankara: Turkey wants action not words in dealing with Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said yesterday during a joint press conference with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

"We are where words have come to an end and action must begin," Babacan said following talks with Rice on the threat posed by fighters of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) operating over the Iraqi border.

Rice was in Ankara on a mission to dissuade Turkey from following through on a threat to launch a military incursion against the PKK bases in northern Iraq.

Babacan said their talks marked the "beginning of a closer cooperation with the United States in the fight against terrorism" and added that the US administration would play a "key role" in combating the Kurdish separatists.

Washington is opposed to any unilateral Turkish action and Rice stressed the need for a combined strategy. "I think it is fair to say that we believe that we all need to redouble our efforts - and the US is committed to redoubling these efforts because we need a comprehensive approach to this problem," she said.

Rice said Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and US President George W. Bush would discuss the issue further when they meet in Washington on Monday.

Calling the militants a "common enemy," Rice said the United States has an "obligation" to help combat the PKK, but reiterated that Washington, Ankara and Baghdad must cooperate. "Any actions we take need to be both effective and need to enforce our overall goal for a stable and unified Iraq," she said.

Rice also held talks with Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Erdogan.

Ankara says numerous pledges by US and Iraqi authorities have failed to materialise and it has warned that unless immediate action is taken Turkish troops will cross the border to root out PKK rebels.