Turk envoy tells Iraq no timetable for troop pullout

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Turkey declined to give Iraq atimetable for withdrawal of troops fighting Kurdish guerrillason Wednesday, resisting pressure from the United States andother allies for a quick resolution.

Turkey's military General Staff said another 77 KurdistanWorkers Party (PKK) rebels had been killed in heavy fightingsince Tuesday night, taking the death toll among the rebels to230 since Turkey's offensive in northern Iraq began a week ago.

"Our objective is clear, our mission is clear and there isno timetable until...those terrorist bases are eliminated,"Turkish envoy Ahmet Davutoglu told a news conference aftertalks in Baghdad with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari.

Thousands of Turkish troops crossed the border lastThursday to root out PKK fighters who have used mountainousnorthern Iraq as a base for their fight for self-rule in themainly Kurdish southeast of Turkey since the 1990s.

Acting Iraqi Prime Minister Barham Saleh warned that aprolonged offensive would lead to "dire" consequences for theregion and repeated Baghdad's demand that the incursion end.

"This would be highly destabilising, it's dangerous to thestability of Iraq and the region as a whole," Saleh, a Kurd,told Reuters on the sidelines of an economic conference whenasked what would happen if the offensive was not halted soon.

"The consequences are dire. This is a very dangerous,precarious situation," he said.

The Turkish General Staff said in a statement that fivemore Turkish soldiers had been killed since late Tuesday,taking their losses to 24. PKK claims that 81 Turkish troopshave been killed could not be verified.

The Turkish statement said its forces had hit 475 newtargets, including shelters, anti-aircraft facilities, trainingbases and command centres. It also said the weather wasimproving after advances had been slowed by heavy snow in theremote, mountainous region of Iraq's Kurdistan.

NOT A "VIOLATION" OF IRAQ SOVEREIGNTY

Davutoglu, chief foreign policy adviser to Turkish PrimeMinister Tayyip Erdogan, said the presence of the PKK innorthern Iraq could not be tolerated by Turkey, nor Iraq.

"For us, continuing operations is not a violation of Iraqisovereignty. It's just the opposite," Davutoglu said.

"It's the restoration of Iraqi sovereignty over thosegeographic areas (where) terrorists are functioning."

Iraq on Tuesday condemned the incursion as a violation ofits sovereignty and, in its strongest comments so far, calledfor the immediate withdrawal of Turkish troops.

Ankara says it is engaged in a legitimate fight againstwhat it and Washington describe as a terrorist organisation.

U.S. Defence Secretary Robert Gates, who is due to meetTurkish officials in Ankara on Thursday, said Turkey must limitits operations to days rather than months.

"It's very important that the Turks make this operation asshort as possible and then leave, and to be mindful of Iraqisovereignty," Gates told reporters in New Delhi before leavingfor a previously scheduled trip to Ankara.

"I measure quick in terms of days, a week or two, somethinglike that. Not months," he said.

The Turkish general staff released photographs on Wednesdayof its troops in northern Iraq, sitting and traipsing throughsnow as well as reconnoitring the terrain. Warplanes, attackhelicopters and artillery are supporting ground troops.

Ankara blames the PKK for the deaths of nearly 40,000people since it began its armed struggle for self-rule inmainly Kurdish southeast Turkey in 1984.

Turkey says it was forced to launch the attack after Iraqiand U.S. authorities failed to stop an estimated 3,000 PKKmembers from using northern Iraq as a base to stage deadlycross-border attacks against Turkish military and civilians.

(Additional reporting by Mariam Karouny in Baghdad andKristin

Roberts in New Delhi; Writing by Paul Tait; Editing by Dean

Yates and Ralph Boulton)