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Patience running out: Erdogan

LONDON: Turkish Primer Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday warned that his government could not wait “for ever” while PKK continued its “terrorist” activities.

Speaking after holding talks with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who extended Britain’s full support to Turkey and praised its “restraint” in the face of PKK’s provocative actions, Mr. Erdogan said his government’s patience was running out.

Mr. Erdogan said Iraq “must know” that his government had a parliamentary mandate to respond militarily.

He said despite a raft of agreements with the Iraqi government, Baghdad had not done enough to prevent PKK rebels from using its territory against Turkey.

“We have waited long. We cannot wait for ever,” he said. Turkey could use military action against PKK “at any time” if Iraq failed to rein in the rebel group.

“I hope our friends will understand our position that, if necessary, we’ll have to respond [militarily],” he said hastening to add that Turkey had no territorial designs on Iraq and fully supported the democratic process in that country.

Mr. Brown said Britain “absolutely and unequivocally” condemned the PKK’s “terrorist” actions such as killing and kidnapping Turkish soldiers.

Praising the “restraint” shown by Turkey so far, he said Britain was committed to working together with Ankara to resolve the issue through diplomatic means. He wanted Iraq to do more to deal firmly with the PKK.

“We appreciate the frustration and anger in Turkey,” Mr. Brown said adding that Britain was doing “everything” in its “power” to deal with the issue and “considerable” diplomatic activity was already under way.

Earlier, the two leaders held talks on bilateral relations and Turkey’s entry into the European Union.

Mr. Brown reiterated Britain’s support to Turkey’s “accession” to the E.U.

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