Top Iraqi Official Satisfied With Turkey Talks

Iraqi Vice-President Tareq al-Hashemi was quoted on Wednesday as saying he had achieved his aims in talks with Turkish leaders designed to ward off a Turkish army cross-border incursion.

"I think I got what I wanted (from my talks). Now there is a new atmosphere and we should use it... Iraq should be given a chance to prevent the cross-border terrorist activities," CNN Turk television quoted Hashemi as saying.

Hashemi arrived in Ankara on Tuesday to urge Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan to refrain from sending troops into northern Iraq to crush Kurdish rebels based there. Turkey's parliament is due later on Wednesday to approve cross-border operations.