Iraq has urged Turkey not to stage a cross-border offensive to fight separatist Kurdish rebels based in Iraq and called for diplomacy to solve the problem.
Iraqi Vice President Tarek al-Hashemi made the appeal on Tuesday during a visit to Turkey, a day before the Turkish Parliament is expected to approve a motion allowing the government to order cross-border operations over the next year.
"This has to be done in fact on mutual understanding. I think that Turkey is in a difficult situation. We understand the anger of the Turkish people, the Turkish government concerning terrorism activities across the border. We feel, very much, sympathy."
The remarks come as Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan says that any action will only target the rebels and Turkey will respect Iraq's territorial integrity.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi government is dispatching a "high-level" political and security team to Turkey to try to defuse tensions.
