Turkish PM says Iraq cross-border operation on table

AGRI, Turkey, June 20 (Reuters) Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan told Reuters his government would authorise a military cross-border operation into northern Iraq to crack down on Kurdish PKK rebels if required.

''We are continuing discussions with the armed forces. If needed we will take the necessary steps (for a cross-border operation) because we cannot allow the PKK any longer to carry out attacks,'' Erdogan said in an interview aboard his plane during campaigning in eastern Turkey late yesterday.

Ankara, a key US ally in NATO, wants Iraqi authorities and the United States to crack down on the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which attacks targets inside Turkey from bases in mountainous, mainly Kurdish northern Iraq.

Asked whether he believed Iraqi and US authorities would honour promises to combat the PKK, Erdogan speaking via an interpreter gave a lukewarm response: ''I wish to remain positive.'' REUTERS AK HS1423