Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan rejected reports of an apparent cease-fire offer from Kurdish separatists Tuesday after arriving in Baghdad for talks with Iraqi leaders aimed at defusing tensions along the countries' shared border. Babacan was responding to Iraqi claims that the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Turkey accuses of launching attacks on its territiory from bases in Iraq, was ready to declare a unilateral truce.But he said cease-fires were only possible between "states and regular forces," The Associated Press reported. "The problem here is that we're dealing with a terrorist organization."
Babacan's visit comes after U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and British Foreign Secretary David Miliband jointly urged Iraq to take "immediate steps" to prevent Kurdish separatists from carrying out attacks against Turkey.
Turkey has threatened to extend its military campaign against the PKK into northern Iraq, claiming its fighters are hiding in the rugged mountain region.
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