WASHINGTON Ñ The Bush administration has assured Turkey that the
United States opposes the establishment of a Kurdish state.
Senior administration officials have discussed U.S. strategy in the
Middle East and the future of Iraq. They are said to have told Ankara that
any effort to topple the regime of President Saddam Hussein would not lead
to an independent Kurdish state.
The U.S. message has been relayed to the government of Prime Minister
Bulent Ecevit by the most ardent administration supporters of an attack on
Baghdad. This has included Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and Deputy
Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz.
"We understand Turkey's concerns," Wolfowitz told the Washington
Institute for Near East Policy. "We are not trying to establish a Kurdish
state."
Addressing a ceremony that honored the late Turkish President Turgut
Ozal, Wolfowitz pledged to maintain the territorial integrity of Iraq.
Wolfowitz said Washington supports the strengthening of Turkey in the Middle
East.
Over the weekend, Turkey increased its alert against the infiltration of
Kurdish insurgents. Security measures were bolstered at border points in
response to intelligence information that agents from the Kurdish Workers
Party planned to spark unrest in Turkey during spring celebrations scheduled
for next month. In previous years, scores of people were killed during this
period.
Authorities said the unrest could come as early as Wednesday when
Kurdish militants plan to arrive by bus at the Turkish border from Western
Europe.
