Turkey:

By Jane O'Brien
BBC News, Washington

US President George Bush (R) shakes hands with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, 5 November

The US fears cross border strikes could destabilise northern Iraq

President Bush has promised to help Turkey halt attacks launched by Kurdish rebels operating from bases in northern Iraq.

His pledge is being seen as an important step towards repairing relations between Ankara and Washington, which have become increasingly strained over the issue.

Dozens of Turkish soldiers and civilians have been killed in recent months in cross-border raids carried out by the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which has been branded a terrorist organisation by the US and European Union.

At a meeting with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Washington, Mr Bush said the PKK was an enemy of Turkey, Iraq and the United States. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7080210.stm>

By Ben Hammersley
BBC News, Turkey

The European Union is risking an Islamic backlash in Turkey, according to the EU's enlargement commissioner, Olli Rehn.

A survey showed attitudes in the country souring towards the West.

Mr Rehn told the European Voice weekly: "If you look at the current political situation in the Middle East, in Palestine, in Lebanon, not to speak of Iraq, we don't need another nationalist or Islamist problem in the neighbourhood of Europe."

The survey revealed Turkish approval of Europe to be falling rapidly.

Just 27% of Turks have a favourable opinion of the European Union, compared to 58% in 2004, according to this year's annual global survey by the Pew Research Center.

"The ongoing frustration in Turkey over its on-again, off-again membership negotiations with the EU are vividly reflected in these data," Pew said in the poll report. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6256880.stm>

Sarah Rainsford
BBC News, Istanbul

Turkish officials at the funeral of a soldier killed in clashes with the PKK in September 2007

Officials have honoured troops killed in previous clashes

All day Turkish news anchors have been reading out the names of 13 soldiers killed in Sirnak by the PKK.

There have been pictures of their families clutching photographs of young men in uniform.

The elite troops were ambushed during an operation in the mountains close to the Iraqi border.

It was part of an offensive against the Kurdish separatist PKK that began earlier this year.

Turkish media calculate that 97 soldiers have died in 2007 alone. But this is the highest number killed in one attack in many years.

The previous weekend, 12 passengers were taken from a minibus and shot in the same province.

That was also blamed on the PKK, which has been labelled a terrorist organisation by the EU and the US.

Demand for retaliation has been almost immediate. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7034442.stm>

Armenian refugee mother and child (picture taken 1915-16 by German photographer Armin Wegner; reproduced here by permission of the Armenian National Institute)

Armenians say many of them died in the systematic deportations

Turkey has warned the US that bilateral ties will suffer if Washington adopts a bill recognising as genocide the Ottoman empire's killings of Armenians.

In a letter to US President George W Bush, Turkish President Abdullah Gul said "serious problems" would emerge if US lawmakers passed the bill. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7035597.stm>

A bill recognising the killing of Armenians in Ottoman times as genocide has cleared its first hurdle in the US Congress despite Turkish warnings.

It passed through the House Foreign Affairs Committee by 27 votes to 21 - the first step towards holding a vote in the House of Representatives.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul reacted swiftly to the result, saying the move was "unacceptable" and had no validity.

President George W Bush had urged the committee not to approve the bill.

"Its passage would do great harm to our relations with a key ally in Nato and in the global war on terror," the US president said.

Turkey is a regional operational hub for the US military, and some suggest access to Incirlik airbase, or other supply lines crucial to US forces in Iraq or Afghanistan, could be cut in response. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7038762.stm>

Bruce Clark looks at how and why Turkish attitudes have changed over the past 90 years.

Armenian refugee mother and child (picture taken 1915-16 by German photographer Armin Wegner; reproduced here by permission of the Armenian National Institute)

German soldier Armin Wegner took photos of Armenian deportees

"The more foreign parliaments insist that our forebears committed crimes against humanity, the less likely anybody in Turkey is to face up to the hardest moments in history."

That, roughly speaking, is the message being delivered by Turkey's hard-pressed intelligentsia as the legislators in one country after another vote for resolutions which insist that the killing of hundreds of thousands of Ottoman Armenians in 1915 amounted to genocide. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/6386625.stm>

Armenian sway over US lawmakersBy Laura Smith-Spark

BBC News, Washington

Despite a direct appeal by US President George W Bush, lawmakers in the US have backed a description of the mass killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks after 1915 as genocide.

Armenian refugees attend a burial in a deportation camp 1915 (picture taken by German photographer Armin Wegner; reproduced here by permission of the Armenian National Institute)
The issue of what happened to the Armenians remains hugely divisive

The resolution, passed by the House of Representatives' Foreign Affairs committee, was written by Democrat Adam Schiff, whose California district is home to the US's largest ethnic-Armenian community. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7040344.stm>

Turkey has recalled its ambassador from Washington after a US congressional committee voted to recognise the mass killing of Armenians during World War I as genocide. Turkey denies claims it was genocide, while Armenia has welcomed the vote.

Here, readers from Armenia and Turkey discuss the resolution, which has rekindled a heated and long-running debate.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/7040229.stm>

Turkish tanks head for the Iraqi border (file photo)

Turkey has begun preparations for a cross-border operation

Unilateral action by Turkey in Iraq could have "very grave consequences" and set a worrying precedent, Iraq's deputy prime minister has warned.

Barham Saleh told the BBC such action could destabilise the region and prompt other neighbouring states to step in.

Turkey has said its patience has run out over the handling of Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq.

It is seeking parliamentary permission for a cross-border operation to pursue Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) members. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7046765.stm>

Massoud Barzani, president of the northern region of Iraq

Barzani repeated calls for talks between Turkey and Iraq's Kurds

The president of the Kurdish region in northern Iraq has said his people will defend themselves if Turkey attacks Kurdish rebels based in the region.

Massoud Barzani rejected accusations that his government provided cover for Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) fighters.

On Tuesday, the Turkish parliament authorised cross-border raids against the PPK which it blames for attacks soldiers and civilians in Turkey.

Ankara has said that military action is not imminent.<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7052566.stm>

Istanbul demonstration on Sunday

Spontaneous protests erupted after the killings

Eight Turkish troops are still missing after an attack by Kurdish rebels on Sunday that left 12 dead, the Turkish military has confirmed.

The statement came as a news agency believed to be linked to the rebels named seven of the missing troops.

Protests in Turkey have put pressure on the government to launch raids on rebel positions inside Iraq, but Ankara has vowed to pursue political solutions.

Iraq's president says the rebels are set to announce a ceasefire.

The office of Jalal Talabani, a Kurd, said the offer would be made on Monday evening.

The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has been blamed for recent attacks that have left more than 40 Turkish soldiers and civilians dead. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7056151.stm>

A Turkish commando patrols near the Iraqi border as a helicopter hovers overhead

Turkish troops made large incursions into Iraq in the 1990s

Turkey has said it will exhaust all diplomatic solutions before sending troops into Iraq to stop cross-border attacks by Kurdish PKK fighters.

Foreign Minister Ali Babacan made the announcement as he prepared to travel to Baghdad for talks with senior Iraqis, including PM Nouri Maliki.

The US has again urged Iraq to take swift action against the insurgents to forestall the threatened Turkish raids.

Turkey's UN envoy has warned that his country's patience has its limits.

The PKK has reportedly claimed to have captured several Turkish troops following an attack on Sunday that left 12 soldiers dead. The Turkish military has only confirmed that eight soldiers are still missing.

There has been expectation in Iraq that the PKK will shortly announce a ceasefire, but previous truces have not been acknowledged by Turkey.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is meeting his UK counterpart, Gordon Brown, in London on Tuesday for scheduled talks.  <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7057461.stm>

A US gunner looks out of a helicopter above Afghanistan, October 2007

America supplies much of the air power in Afghanistan

US pressure for its allies to send more troops to Afghanistan and tension on Turkey's Iraq border are likely to dominate Nato talks in the Netherlands.

Washington provides about half of the nearly 35,000 Nato troops in Afghanistan where resurgent Taleban militants are fighting in the south.

Turkey, which has the alliance's biggest European army, is poised to cross into Iraq in pursuit of rebels.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7059340.stm>

By Crispin Thorold
BBC News, Irbil

Irbil market

The talk on the streets of Irbil is of a pending Turkish strike

Irbil is Iraq's boomtown. Relatively peaceful, and with large sums of international money helping to drive economic growth, over the past few years this city in Kurdish northern Iraq has thrived.

Things have got so good that President of the Regional Government Massoud Barzani recently boasted he would turn Irbil into a "new Dubai".

Staying in Irbil often feels like the first stop on the long journey towards Central Asia and, although it is in the heart of the Middle East, the city has its own distinct identity.

Kurds form the vast majority of its population, business is conducted largely in Kurdish and in the markets it is Kurdish music that blares from the loudspeakers. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7058570.stm>

Turkish tank near Iraqi border

Turkey has been building up its military presence on the border

Turkish fighter jets have bombed several Kurdish PKK rebel positions on the border with Iraq, according to the semi-official Anatolia news agency.

Fighter jets reportedly destroyed mountain bases in the Turkish provinces of Sirnak, Hakkiri, Siirt and Van, and bombed mountain paths used by fighters.

The raids follow an attack by PKK rebels on Sunday in which 12 Turkish soldiers were killed.

The Turkish military says eight soldiers are missing.

Several F-16 warplanes loaded with bombs and attack helicopters took off from an air base in south-eastern city of Diyarbakir, an Associated Press cameraman reported.

They bombed mountain paths used by rebels to cross from Iraq into Turkey, Anatolia said. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7059721.stm>

File pic of US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has long advocated such a vote

Supporters of a resolution in the US Congress to label as genocide the mass killing of Armenians in Turkey after 1915 have called for it to be delayed.

The four main sponsors of the vote said they still believed a majority of their colleagues would support it, but only if the "timing is more favourable".

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she respected their decision to postpone.

Turkey recalled its envoy over the vote and President George W Bush warned it could damage ties with the US ally.  

READ THE RESOLUTION

US House of Representatives' Armenian Genocide Resolution [30KB]
Q&A: Armenian 'genocide'
Armenia resolutions

The four Democrat co-sponsors of the resolution - Adam Schiff, Brad Sherman, Anna Eshoo and Frank Pallone - said they planned to table it again later this year or in 2008.

The vote had seemed ready for consideration by the House of Representatives after it was passed by the House Foreign Affairs Committee earlier this month.

Turkey, an important regional operational hub for the US military, accepts many Armenians died during World War One, but denies they were victims of systematic genocide.

Analysts say Ankara could deny American access to Incirlik airbase, or other supply lines crucial to US forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, in response to the passage of such a vote. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7063502.stm>

Turkey has dismissed a range of proposals from Iraq on dealing with Kurdish rebels, saying they will take too long to work.

The foreign ministry said more urgent action was needed than that offered by an Iraqi delegation, which is in Ankara to try to resolve the dispute.

The visit is an attempt to avert a threatened Turkish ground attack on Kurdistan Workers' Party bases in Iraq.

Turkey gave the Iraqis a list of PKK rebels and demanded their extradition. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7064512.stm>

By Crispin Thorold
BBC News, near Zakho, northern Iraq

PKK fighters in northern Iraq

The PKK fighters say they want rights for Kurds in Turkey

The soldiers at the final Iraqi border patrol checkpoint were reluctant to let us through.

"If you want to continue, you do so at your own risk," one warned.

The writ of the local authorities ended at this point and after the checkpoint we would enter Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) territory.  <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7065431.stm>

By Jim Muir
BBC News, Baghdad

Turkish soldiers are moved to the frontier in a mountainous district of Yuksekova, near the Turkish-Iraqi-Iranian border, on Friday 26 October 2007

Turkey is deploying troops near its border with Iraq

The current crisis on the Turkish-Iraqi border comes against the background of a long and complicated relationship between Ankara and the Iraqi Kurdish region in northern Iraq.

Several times in the 1990s, Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters fought alongside the Turkish army inside northern Iraq, to try to dislodge militants of the Turkish rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) from the rugged and remote border mountains where they were dug in.

But now the signs are that a major Turkish land incursion, if it went beyond the border mountains, would likely collide with Iraqi Kurdish forces, anxious to defend the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan where they have been running their own affairs since the early 1990s.

You don't need 100,000 troops to take [PKK] positions. What they're clearly planning... is a major incursion

Senior Kurdish source

Tensions between Turkey and the Iraqi Kurdish region had been rising steadily in the months running up to the current crisis, triggered by PKK attacks which have killed some 40 Turkish troops in recent weeks.

In May, Turkey was angered when the three provinces of Iraqi Kurdistan were handed security control by the US-led multinational forces, and promptly raised the Kurdish flag instead of the Iraqi one. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7068338.stm>

The US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, has said Turkey and the United States share a common enemy in the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Ms Rice said the fight against the Kurdish separatist rebels would require persistence and commitment, after talks with the Turkish government in Ankara.

The meeting was aimed at averting major military operations by Turkey against PKK fighters based in northern Iraq.

Turkey has threatened to send in troops if it does not see any concrete action.

Nearly 50 Turkish soldiers have died in clashes with Kurdish fighters in the last month and the government is under huge public pressure to respond with force. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7074361.stm>

By Sarah Rainsford
BBC News, Istanbul

Turkish woman holds poster with pictures of dead Turkish soldiers

Turkish protesters remember the dead soldiers

The coffin of a Turkish soldier - draped in the red and white national flag - was loaded onto my plane back from the Iraq border region to Istanbul this week.

Soldiers stood and saluted as the flight took off, carrying the latest casualty in weeks of intensified clashes with the Kurdish separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

Almost every day now the newspapers here are full of the soldiers' life stories and pictures of their funerals. Many of those dying are young conscripts.

These casualties - and the deaths of 12 soldiers and capture of eight more in one PKK ambush in particular - are fuelling anger and frustration in Turkey.

There is a sense that Turkey is battling alone against the PKK - a group that the US and EU both label as "terrorist".

Ankara argues that the mountains of northern Iraq have become the PKK's safe haven and command centre.http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7073718.stm>

Turkish police on guard at Ankara airport as Condoleezza Rice arrives

Turkey has tightened security for its high-level guests

A second round of major international talks on promoting security and stability in Iraq gets under way in the Turkish city of Istanbul on Saturday.

Foreign ministers of all six of Iraq's neighbours are gathering along with top diplomats from the UN, the G8 and international Arab and Islamic bodies.

The first round was held in Egypt in May, but despite good intentions it was short on tangible results.

Tensions on Turkey's border with Iraq may overshadow Saturday's meeting.

At Sharm el-Sheikh in May, an agreement in principle was reached to forgive Iraq some $30bn in debts.

Before setting off for Istanbul, Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki said that this time Baghdad would be hoping for practical steps, not just vague words. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7076233.stm>

Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan, left, embraces Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki in Istanbul on Saturday 3 November 2007

Turkish troops could strike against PKK rebels in Iraq soon

Iraqi PM Nouri Maliki says Baghdad is ready to pursue and arrest the Kurdish rebel leaders carrying out cross-border raids into Turkey from northern Iraq.

Mr Maliki also said his government would not rule out taking joint action with Ankara against the PKK fighters.

The pledge was made at international talks in the Turkish city of Istanbul on the issue of Iraq's security.

Iraq's six neighbours gathered with diplomats from the UN, G8 and international Arab and Islamic groups.

Attending the one-day conference in Istanbul, Mr Maliki said his country should not be used as a base for attacks against neighbours.

"We will co-operate with our neighbours in defeating this threat," he said.

After the talks, Mr Maliki's office said in a statement to Reuters news agency: "The prime minister renewed the willingness of the Iraqi government to take steps to isolate the terrorist PKK, prevent any help reaching its members, chase and arrest them, and put them in front of the Iraqi judiciary because of their terrorist activities."

Mr Maliki's spokesman said Baghdad did not rule out joint military action with Ankara, although Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari stressed such a measure was not imminent. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7076233.stm>

Turkish troops have been at the Iraq border since October

Large numbers of Turkish fighter jets have bombed suspected Kurdish rebel bases in northern Iraq, reports say.

Turkish officials said the warplanes had targeted the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), in areas near the border.
But officials in northern Iraq said the planes had struck several villages. There were reports that one woman was killed, although this was unconfirmed.
Turkey's deputy prime minister said more strikes against "terrorists" were possible in the coming weeks.
"We, as the government, are resolute to remove this trouble from the agenda of our country," Cemil Cicek told the state-run Anatolia news agency.
Mr Cicek also called on Kurdish militants to lay down their arms and return to their homes, insisting their fight was futile.
Turkey has regularly targeted the PKK inside Iraq in recent months, but this is thought to be the first fighter jet raid outside its own territory.
Previous strikes had used artillery or helicopters. <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7146567.stm>

Turkish troops have been at the Iraq border since October

Turkey's air strikes against Kurdish rebels in Iraq on Sunday were approved by the United States in advance, the Turkish military has said.

The country's top general, Yasar Buyukanit, said the US opened northern Iraqi airspace for the operation.
Jets targeted the Kurdish rebel PKK in areas near the border. The Turkish media said up to 50 planes were used.
Iraqi officials said the bombs hit 10 villages, leaving one woman dead, while the PKK reported seven deaths.
The Iraqi Foreign Minister, Hoshyar Zebari, told the BBC that his government had told the Turkish ambassador in Baghdad that the air strikes were "unacceptable".

We hope it's the last one, and will not be repeated, because this can lead to a galvanisation of the situation and the rise of tension and emotions in the region

 Hoshyar Zebari, Iraqi Foreign Minister

"There has been previous understanding that any such action should be co-ordinated with the Iraqi government or with the multinational forces," he told BBC's Newshour programme.
"From what we've learned, they gave a very late notice for their operation, and those targeted villages... were not PKK infrastructure."
Mr Zebari said Iraq did not want to see any further Turkish air strikes on its territory because they might lead to a "galvanisation of the situation and the rise of tension and emotions in the region".
But Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan hailed them a "success". <http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7147271.stm>

US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has made an unannounced visit to the volatile northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk.

US officials said she would use her trip to encourage Iraqi leaders to seek political reconciliation.
"It is an important province for the future of Iraq, for a democratic Iraq," she said at talks with local leaders.
Analysts say the Bush administration is frustrated that recent security gains in the oil-rich region have not been accompanied by political advances.
Kirkuk is home to a volatile mix of Kurds, Sunni and Shia Arabs and Turkmen, all of whom dispute its historical identity.
"It truly is the crossing point for every one of Iraq's ethnicities, every one of Iraq's religions and sects," said Ms Rice's leading adviser on Iraq, David Satterfield.
"Kirkuk is often identified as a flashpoint for the future of Iraq. We see a logjam being broken here," he said.
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7149332.stm>

It is the second such Turkish air strike in one week

Turkey has launched fresh air strikes against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, the Turkish military says.

Fighter planes attacked positions held by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in a 35-minute raid, the army said.
Similar air strikes last Sunday were followed two days later by an incursion into Iraq by Turkish troops.

Iraq's Kurdish regional government condemned those raids, but Turkey says it has a right to defend itself from PKK attacks on its territory.
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7157764.stm>