US Secretary of State Colin Powell was travelling to Turkey and Belgium today for talks on the conflict and post-war reconstruction of Iraq.
The unexpected trip is intended to bolster the US-Turkish relationship, which has come under strain since the Turkish parliament narrowly voted down a US request to bring 62,000 troops through the country to open a northern front against Iraq.
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Turkey shares a 218-mile border with Iraq, and the rejection deprived the United States of the ability to mount a pincer-attack against Baghdad.
Since then, Turkish officials have suggested they would send their own troops into northern Iraq, which is populated mostly by Kurds. Turkey has a sizable Kurdish minority and fears any attempt by Iraqi Kurds to establish their own state.
About 1,000 US paratroopers have landed in northern Iraq, and the Kurdish forces have begun to move on some Iraqi positions, but they lack tanks and heavy equipment to mount a large-scale attack.
"I want to reassure Turkish leaders that we believe the work we are doing there should make it unnecessary for them to consider any incursions," Mr Powell said before he left. The United States wants to "make sure we have a common understanding".
In Brussels, where Mr Powell will meet with NATO allies and members of the European Union on Thursday, the focus will be on postwar reconstruction in Iraq.
Though the Bush administration has fierce disagreements with some key allies over the war with Iraq, State Department spokesman Mr Richard Boucher said Mr Powell would try to look toward the future.
AP