Iraqi Support Waning

The Turkish Foreign Minister has expressed strong concerns over clashes between U.S.-led occupation forces and Shiite groups in Iraq and said there was a dangerous escalation in the country, adding Turkey was closely following recent incidents in the region.

According to Abdullah Gul, "we have said this from the beginning; things may get messy if the culture and structure of this region is not well known. For this reason, we hope that our suggestions which we have been making from the beginning are taken into consideration and these incidents are prevented. For the time being, there is a very dangerous escalation," Gul told press as leaving the Foreign Ministry.

In reply to a question about reports of a U.S. request for Turkish troops to tackle the spreading clashes, Gul said, "We previously proposed sending troops to Iraq and we received approval from the parliament, however this was then seen as inappropriate. Now, sending Turkish troops to the region is out of the question."

Last year, Turkey offered to send troops to Iraq but the move was shelved in the face of strong opposition from the U.S.-appointed Iraqi Governing Council members, especially the Kurdish members.