Rice urges Turkey to show restraint on NIraq

MOSCOW/ANKARA, Oct 13 (Reuters) US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said today she had urged Turkey to refrain from any major military operation in northern Iraq.

''I urged restraint,'' Rice, on a visit to Moscow, told reporters of her telephone conversations on Friday with Turkey's president, prime minister and foreign minister.

Two senior US officials met Turkish officials in Ankara to try to ease strains after a Congressional resolution branded as genocide massacres of Armenians by Ottoman Turks in 1915.

Some analysts believe the vote could weaken Washington's influence on fellow NATO member Turkey and increase the likelihood of a Turkish incursion into northern Iraq to crush Kurdish rebels.

Rice said she told the Turkish officials ''that we all have an interest in a stable Iraq and that anything that is destabilising is going to be to the detriment of both of our interests.'' Rice acknowledged strains following the US Congressional committee vote on the Armenian massacres. The Bush administration would strive to stop it being approved by the full US Congress, she said.

''It is a tough time,'' she told reporters. ''It's not an easy time for the relationship and it was perfectly predictable.'' In Ankara, US Assistant Secretary of State Dan Fried and Undersecretary of Defense Eric Edelman faced criticism from Turkish officials over the resolution. Turkey recalled its ambassador to the United States for consultations this week.

''We told him (Edelman) that if the resolution passed in the House it would lead to irreparable damage in our relationship with the United States,'' a high-level Turkish diplomatic source who attended the meeting told Reuters.

The source, who declined to be named, said Turkish-US cooperation within NATO would also be damaged.

Turkish diplomatic sources said Edelman had promised to remind Iraq of their obligations under the United Nations charter to protect their borders and fight terrorism.

The possibility of a major Turkish military incursion into northern Iraq is troubling to US officials, who fear this could destabilise a relatively peaceful area of Iraq.

Edelman also held talks with deputy chief of general staff, General Ergin Saygun, a Turkish diplomat said.

The Turkish government is to seek approval from parliament next week for a major operation against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants based in the mountains of northern Iraq.

The House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee approved on Wednesday a resolution labelling the 1915 killings genocide. Turkey denies genocide but says many died in inter-ethnic fighting.

CONFERENCE CANCELLED Turkish officials say foreign ministry and military officials met after the resolution was approved to discuss potential measures against the United States.

In initial repercussions, a US visit by Trade Minister Kursad Tuzmen was cancelled, along with a conference being held by the Turkish-US Business Council in the United States.

Other potential moves may include blocking US access to Incirlik air base, cancelling procurement contracts, downscaling bilateral visits, denying airspace to US aircraft, and halting joint military exercises, analysts and diplomats say.

The United States relies heavily on Turkish bases to supply its war effort in Iraq, where more than 160,000 US troops are trying to restore stability more than four years after the invasion that toppled former dictator Saddam Hussein.

Ankara has long complained Washington has not done enough on its own or through the Iraqi government to crack down on PKK rebels who use northern Iraq as a base to attack Turkey.

The PKK said yesterday its guerrillas were crossing back into Turkey to target politicians and police after the prospect of a cross-border military operation emerged.

Turkey blames the PKK for the deaths of more than 30,000 people since the group launched its armed struggle for an ethnic homeland in southeast Turkey in 1984.

REUTERS SYU RAI2352