October 17, 2007 - 17:22 AMT
Iraq will view incursion of Turkish army as encroachment on its sovereignty
Iraq pleaded for time Wednesday to tackle Turkish Kurd militants on its territory as Turkey's parliament prepared to authorize military strikes to crush the rebel bases.

"The Iraqi government should be given a chance to prevent the cross-border terrorist activities," Iraqi Vice President Tareq al-Hashemi said after talks with Turkish leaders in Ankara.

"Give us time to join forces with Turkey to tackle this problem," he said.

While Hashemi spoke of a "new atmosphere" to resolve the crisis, the Turkish parliament was still expected later Wednesday to adopt a government motion authorizing a military incursion against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) bases in northern Iraq.

Iraq has numerously stated that it will consider incursion as encroachment on its sovereignty.