Cannot wait for ever for Iraq to act: Erdogan.

From Gulf Times:

London: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday that his nation cannot wait forever for the Iraqi government to act against rebels in northern Iraq.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown urged restraint.

Erdogan, who was in Britain for talks with his British counterpart over the worsening situation in northern Iraq, said the Iraqi government had developed a mechanism for dealing with the guerrillas of the Kurdish Workers Party, or PKK.

"We waited for 14 months for this mechanism to bear fruit, but it did not, and we cannot wait forever," Erdogan said, adding later: "We have to make our own decisions."

He refused to set a timetable for Turkish action, warning: "We can exercise this mandate at any time."

Britain has backed the United States in trying to keep Turkey from crossing into Iraq to attack Kurdish rebels based there. The US and others fear a Turkish attack could lead to widespread bloodshed in one of Iraq's few relatively peaceful areas.

On Monday, British Foreign Minister David Miliband joined US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to urge Iraq and Turkey to work together to deal with the PKK, which has waged war against the Turkish state from bases inside northern Iraq. Both the US and Britain consider the PKK a terrorist organization.

But Erdogan hinted that any action would be taken in consultation with Turkey's Western allies.

"It is important to have a common platform to combat this threat," Erdogan said.
Brown said Britain was committed to working with Turkey on counter terrorism activity.

"We will step up all efforts that are necessary so that terrorists cannot move from Iraq into Turkey and do such damage over the mountains," Brown said. "And we support the restraint that has been shown by the Turkish government over recent days in what are very difficult circumstances."