( UN ) - Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon voiced concern about the Turkish Parliament's decision this week to enable the country's armed forces to take cross-border military action in Iraq against targets of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
"The Secretary-General strongly urges all sides to demonstrate restraint at this delicate juncture," his spokesperson said in a statement released at United Nations Headquarters in New York. "He welcomes the affirmation by the Turkish Foreign Minister [Abdullah Gul] that Turkey is open to discussing all problems in Iraq."
The statement added that Mr. Ban calls on the Iraqi Government and the Kurdistan Regional Government to ensure that Iraqi territory is not used to mount cross-border attacks against Turkey.
"Recent attacks by the PKK inside Turkey have been rightly condemned by the international community," it noted.