U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says his Turkish counterpart, Vecdi Gonul, did not give him a specific timetable to end Turkey's military offensive in northern Iraq.
After meeting with Gates Thursday in Ankara, Gonul told reporters Turkish forces will stay in Iraq as long as necessary to stop Kurdish rebels based there.
Defense Secretary Gates - who has been urging Turkey to end its incursion soon - is scheduled to meet later today with Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The Iraqi government says Turkey's military action violates Iraqi sovereignty. Baghdad has called on Ankara to immediately withdraw its troops.
Turkey is pursuing an aggressive air and ground offensive against the Kurdistan Workers Party rebels, who have been fighting for autonomy in southeast Turkey since 1984.
Turkey's prime minister has defended his country's military offensive, calling it a "rightful struggle." The Turkish military says it has killed 230 Kurdish rebels and lost 24 of its soldiers since late last week. The rebels have said the military is inflating the rebel death toll.
The United States is providing intelligence to Turkey. If Ankara does not follow the U.S. request to end the military operation, Washington could cut off that intelligence flow.
On Wednesday, Iraqi students at Irbil University and Sulaimaniya University in northern Iraq demonstrated against the Turkish incursion.
