Ankara links Iraq force to US action over Kurds

[ze_dscherman]

Recep Tayyip Erdogan (pictured) , Turkey's prime minister, is wavering in his commitment to send troops to Iraq because he has not received firm assurances from the US that it will round up secessionist Kurds hiding in northern Iraq, according to a senior Turkish official.

General James Jones, commander of US forces in Europe, visited Turkey earlier this month to discuss the possible deployment of about 10,000 soldiers, but Mr Erdogan has continued to insist an agreement on Kurdish Workers party (PKK) separatists should be part of any deal.

SNIP

Turkey is one of four countries Washington has been soliciting for a 10,000-strong division to take over from the 101st Airborne in central Iraq.

Colin Powell, US secretary of state, admitted at the weekend that the US had given up on one of the countries, India, and Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan's president, last week indicated that hostile domestic opinion made it unlikely he could commit troops other than as part of a UN-endorsed Muslim force.

South Korea, the fourth country approached, is weighing the request.

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