( Cihan ) - "A parliament decision is necessary to launch a cross-border operation and the steps would be taken accordingly," Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in his televised remarks during an interview with a private Turkish TV channel late on Wednesday.
Erdogan commented on countering the terrorist organizations operating in northern Iraq and said that negotiations were only possible with the central Iraqi government. He described Massoud Barzani, the head of the regional government in northern Iraq, as "a tribal leader" and reiterated that he would not meet him.
In response to a question on the latest speculations on a Turkish military incursion into northern Iraq, Erdogan said that he did not approve the constant debates about this in the press.
"Should there be such an operation, the government or the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) would not announce it openly," he added.
Erdogan also said that the government was in close cooperation with the TSK on the issue and that all possible steps were being considered.