Stay out of Iraq, Nato warns Ankara

Nato has warned Turkey that proposals for a 20km military buffer zone inside northern Iraq would be acceptable only if there was a genuine humanitarian crisis in the region.

Ankara was told there would be no justification for moving more troops into Iraqi territory at present, given that there was no refugee problem. Diplomats said United States officials issued the warning at a meeting of Nato ambassadors on Monday.

Turkey said it was not planning to increase its contingent in northern Iraq but reserved the right to do so if the position changed. Ankara already has at least 4,000 troops inside northern Iraq, a remnant of its long war against Kurdish separatists.

The Turkish government says it would want to increase its presence only if the border was threatened or if there was a repeat of the 1991 refugee influx into Turkey. But there have been fears that Turkey might try to use its military muscle to stem any tide of Kurdish separatism spreading across its borders. Nato, which has made Awacs surveillance planes and Patriot missile batteries available to defend Turkey from any Iraqi aggression, is anxious that Ankara does not use the war in Iraq as a pretext for further militarisation. Germany has said it might pull out of the alliance operation to defend Turkey if there was a substantial incursion of Turkish troops. Most of the air crew flying the Awacs surveillance missions are from Germany.

Lord Robertson of Port Ellen, Nato's secretary general, said no decisions had been taken on a buffer zone. "There is no upsurge of refugees in the region at the moment," he said. Another diplomat said a Turkish buffer zone would be "tolerated" if it was prompted by humanitarian concerns.

Günther Verheughen, the European commissioner for enlargement, added his voice to the calls for Turkish restraint. He said: "It would be absolutely wrong, at this stage, to say to Turkey that we, in principle, are against you going into Iraq, but you can go in a little bit."