NATO against Turkey incursion into Iraq

PanARMENIAN.Net - NATO Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer has spoken to Turkey's President and added his voice to international calls for restraint in the crisis with Iraq, the alliance's chief spokesman said Wednesday.



"All parties should exercise the greatest possible restraint precisely at this time of great tension," said NATO spokesman James Appathurai.



Turkey's parliament is expected to approve later Wednesday a possible cross-border military incursion into northern Iraq to chase separatist Kurdish rebels blamed for terrorist attacks in Turkey.



Appathurai said de Hoop Scheffer had spoken to President Abdullah Gul late Tuesday to pass on condolences for deadly attacks on Turkey, which is a NATO member. "He has expressed his understanding for the great pressure on Turkish society as a result of these regular losses," Appathurai told reporters.



He stressed that NATO supports Turkey's view that the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, is a terrorist organization, The Associated Press reports.