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To: CIMA who wrote (20921)	10/7/1998 1:26:00 AM
From: Alex	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 116841

Turkey Issues "Last Warning" to Syria Turkey cancels all leave for troops on frontier DAMASCUS, Oct 6 [(Reuters)] - Turkey issued a "last warning" to Syria on Tuesday over what it called Damascus's backing of Kurdish separatist rebels and cancelled all leave for troops guarding the two countries' frontier. Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak shuttled between Turkey and Syria in a mediation effort as Ankara issued its last warning in a dispute that could have serious implications for the whole Middle East. Officials said that Turkey has cancelled all leave for troops guarding the Syrian-Turkish frontier. Mubarak left Damascus on Tuesday after a 70-minute stopover at the city's airport on his way home from Turkey. He had held consultations with Syrian President Hafez al-Assad following an an initial round of talks in Damascus on Sunday. Mubarak briefed Assad on the outcome of his visit to Ankara and his talks with senior Turkish officials and the Turkish viewpoint on how to find a way out of the current situation, Syrian presidential spokesman Joubran Kourieh said. Mubarak heard the Syrian view point from Assad, Kourieh said without giving any further details. Other Syrian officials did not elaborate on whether Mubarak was making any progress in his mediation efforts. Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yilmaz told a meeting of his party deputies earlier on Tuesday: "We are warning Syria for the last time. "We want them to stop their support for separatist terrorism and stop their policies of hostility. We are waiting for a reply from Syria," he said. Yilmaz did not say what action Ankara might take if it did not receive a satisfactory reply from Damascus. The Turkish stock market plunged nine percent on Monday amid fears over an escalation of the Syrian dispute adding to the turmoil afflicting emerging markets in general but on Tuesday the market held steady. Turkey accuses Syria of giving logistical support to the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has been fighting a campaign for Kurdish self-rule in southeast Turkey for the last 14 years. Some 29,000 people have been killed in the conflict. "We heard Turkey's views on the situation. President Mubarak is here for negotiating between the two sides," Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Moussa said after talks with Turkish President Suleyman Demirel at the end of the five-hour visit. An Ankara statement from Demirel's office said: "Our president...explained in detail Syria's support for terrorist activities against Turkey, made clear this situation could not continue...and set out the concrete steps necessary for Syria to take." Turkey believes it is close to defeating the PKK rebels on the battlefield and its troops have made frequent forays into northern Iraq to attack PKK strongholds there. Western diplomats and Turkey say PKK chief Abdullah Ocalan is based in Damascus. Syria has repeatedly denied the charges. Turkish security officials said thousands of soldiers and gendarmerie police on the 877-km (550-mile) frontier had been ordered on Monday not to take leave. The long-running dispute flared up last week when Turkish officials warned of military action against Syria. The United States, disturbed about a potential clash, urged its NATO ally Turkey and Syria to exercise restraint. "We have concerns about the possibility of this moving in a negative direction," said State Department spokesman James Rubin on arrival in Jerusalem with Secretary of State Madeleine Albright for talks on an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal. "We very much don't want this to go to the next step because in this case...it would be a grave risk of a much larger conflict," Rubin said. Syria has called for Arab support on a level with that seen in the 1973 Middle East war when Arabs united behind Syria and Egypt against Israel. The Arab League has echoed Syrian and Iranian charges that Turkey's new informal ally, Israel, fomented the row. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said his country, which signed a wide-ranging defence pact with Turkey in 1996, has no part in the quarrel. Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi said on Monday night he would consider any Turkish attack on Syria as an "aggression" against Libya. He warned Ankara that its business interests with Tripoli would be hurt should any attack take place. Lebanon, Jordan, Algeria, Saudi Arabia and Gulf countries have all urged a diplomatic solution to the dispute. Israeli jets are allowed to train in Turkey's air space and Israel is upgrading Turkish fighter planes under a 1996 accord. Reuters, October 6, 1998