Turkish Official Hopes to Ease Allies’ Anger Over Invasion

ISTANBUL, Turkey —  Nearly two weeks after Turkey sent 35,000 troops backed by tanks to crush rebel Kurds in northern Iraq, officials said Wednesday that newly appointed Foreign Minister Erdal Inonu will travel to Western capitals to defuse mounting criticism of the operation.

Inonu plans to visit Washington, where concern has replaced an initial green light of “understanding” for Turkey’s move against Kurds. Turkish officials say the Kurds use bases in Iraq for attacks inside Turkey.

Inonu also plans to visit Europe, where the pressure is even greater. The German government Wednesday blocked the delivery of military engineering equipment a day after freezing a $106-million credit to buy three German frigates.

German Foreign Minister Klaus Kinkel told reporters in Bonn that outside powers should send troops to establish a buffer zone in northern Iraq. “Turkey has to pull out immediately. . . . The United Nations will have to get massively involved,” he said.

The U.S. State Department has taken a milder line.

“Turkey is the country that has indicated its interest to possibly look at some kind of international approach to the problem along the border. It’s up to Turkey to now come forward with something more concrete in terms of how that might be done,” spokeswoman Christine Shelly told reporters Tuesday.

The Turkish government reopened the border Wednesday to allow accredited foreign and Turkish reporters to cross into northern Iraq, but it has seemed otherwise unbowed by pressure and criticism from its North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies.

Military sources say 25 camps of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, have been destroyed in the mountains and 268 rebels have been killed. PKK sources say their casualties are far fewer.