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EU urges Turkey to play 'constructive' role in Iraq

BRUSSELS, April 13, 2007 (AFP) - The European Commission urged Turkey on Friday to play a "constructive" role in Iraq a day after Turkey's army chief called for a military incursion into northern Iraq to hunt Turkish Kurd rebels.

"The stability of Iraq is in our common interest," Commission spokeswoman Krisztina Nagy told AFP.

"The EU recognizes the constructive role Turkey plays in the area and in this context it is important that Turkey continues to play such a positive role," she added.

In a rare press conference at the army headquarters, General Yasar Buyukanit pushed on Thursday for a cross-border operation into northern Iraq to crack down on Turkish Kurd rebels he said had sought refuge there.

"The EU is following the situation in the region very closely," said Nagy. "Our hope and the interest of all involved is that possible differences are dealt with in a peaceful and constructive manner."

Turkey has accused Iraqi Kurds of tolerating, and even backing the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a bloody campaign for Kurdish self-rule in Turkey's southeast since 1984. The conflict has claimed some 37,000 lives.

Ankara says thousands of militants of the PKK enjoy unrestricted movement in northern Iraq and are able to obtain weapons and explosives there.

The group is listed as a terrorist group by Turkey and much of the international community.