Turkey "explains necessity of intrusion into Northern Iraq"

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey has decided to seek remedy via acts of diplomacy before conducting a cross border operation into Northern Iraq. After talks with NATO and EU officials, Ankara is now sending an official letter to the UN to remind of the 'self-defense' factor.



The news comes as Turkey reinforces its troops along the border with Iraq and the powerful army General Staff stresses its readiness for a cross-border operation to crush guerrillas of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).



The UN move prepared the legal and diplomatic ground for the possible military operation, which has already sparked alarm in the United States, Turkey's NATO ally.



The Foreign Ministry official said Turkey's permanent UN representative, Baki Ilkin, will hold talks with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon this week.



"The terrorism incidents will be explained. A report will be presented concerning the explosives and weapons we have determined are coming (into Turkey) from northern Iraq," the official said. "More cooperation from the United Nations is requested on this matter," he added. The official declined to comment on the possibility of military action in northern Iraq.



Ankara has long urged U.S. and Iraqi government forces to crack down on an estimated 4,000 PKK guerrillas who use the mountains of northern Iraq as a springboard to attack military and civilian targets inside Turkey. Turkey insists it has the right under international law to send troops into Iraq in self-defense if need be, Sabah newspaper reports.