A statement from the foreign ministry spokesman's office said the Iraqi delegation's trip to Turkey was "a positive effort ... well-intentioned and sincere."

"However," it said, "we see that the Iraqi delegation has come with ideas that will take a long time to implement. The time factor is very important."

"Turkey," it said, "expects urgent and determined measures in the fight against the PKK terror organisation" -- the Kurdistan Workers Party, which Turkey says enjoys safe haven in bases in northern Iraq and whose recent, deadly attacks against Turkish troops sparked the current crisis.

Iraqi defence ministry spokesman Muhammed Askeri read out Baghdad's proposals and they included, according to an informal translation from the Arabic, the multinational coalition force watching over the Turkish/Iraqi border and the creation of more and reinforced military outposts along the border to prevent infiltration by PKK rebels.

Baghdad also suggested direct talks between the Turkish, Iraqi and US military and the revival of a tripartite panel to coordinate the fight against the PKK.

The solution to the problem "must in any case be political and diplomatic," the Iraqis said.

Friday's talks between Iraq's Defence Minister Abdel Qader Mohammed Jassim and National Security Minister Shirwan al-Waeli and Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan and Interior Minister Besir Atalay began at the foreign ministry here in the morning and lasted only about 90 minutes.

A working lunch preceded the second round of talks, which lasted for about four and a half hours.

Tensions in the region rose last week when the Turkish parliament authorised the government to order military incursions against the bases of the PKK, which has been waging a bloody campaign for self-rule in southeast Turkey since 1984.

They peaked after the PKK ambushed a military patrol on Sunday, killing 12 soldiers and capturing eight.

The Turkish army has since massed men and equipment along the border and said it killed more than 60 Kurdish rebels in fighting since Sunday's ambush.

Turkey has long complained of what it calls US and Iraqi inaction in dealing with the PKK in northern Iraq, where the rebels are based.

Washington and Baghdad have vowed to make good on promises to crack down on the PKK, but Turkish leaders, facing strong domestic pressure for rapid military action, have voiced mounting exasperation.

There was no immediate comment from the Turks on a statement Friday by the senior US military commander in northern Iraq that his forces plan to do "absolutely nothing" to counter the rebels.

Major General Benjamin Mixon also told reporters in Washington via video link-up from Iraq that he had received no "requirements or ... responsibility" to head off a Turkish cross-border incursion either.

The Iraqi delegation included Iraq's intelligence chief and representatives of the two major Kurdish parties in northern Iraq, as well as a US military officer.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan remained ambiguous on the timing of an eventual Turkish military operation against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, but hinted that it is unlikely to happen before he flies to Washington on November 5.

Erdogan, speaking to reporters on his return from a two-day visit to Romania, said that military action was part of a "process," which includes his meeting with US President George W. Bush at the White House next month.

But he also warned that "what may or may not happen until (my) trip to America, I cannot say -- we are now in a constant state of alert."