Turkey says no reason to send troops to northern Iraq "for the moment"

ISTANBUL (AFP) Apr 12, 2003
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said Saturday there was no need to send Ankara's troops to northern Iraq "for the moment," but added that the army remained ready to move in.

"There is no need for the Turkish army to enter northern Iraq at the moment," Gul told reporters.

Turkey had threatened to intervene militarily if Iraqi Kurds seized the key northern oil towns of Kirkuk and Mosul, a condition defined as one of Ankara's "red lines."

SPACE.WIRE