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U.S. President George W. Bush on Wednesday (October 17) urged Turkey not to launch a major incursion into northern Iraq. He spoke after Turkey's parliament approved by a large majority a government request to allow troops to cross into northern Iraq to crush Kurdish rebels based there. The United States fears a cross-border incursion could destabilise the most peaceful part of Iraq and potentially the wider region. "We are making it very clear to Turkey that we don't think it is in their interests to send troops into Iraq," Bush told a news conference. "Actually, they have troops already stationed in Iraq. And they've had troops stationed there for quite a while. We don't think it's in their interests to send more troops in," he added. Bush said the United States in talks with Turkey and was pressing Washington's message that it understands the concerns about the Kurdish rebel group but "there's a better way to deal with the issue than having the Turks send massive troops into (Iraq)." Late last week Turkey recalled its ambassador to the United States for consultations after a vote in a U.S. congressional committee branded killings of Armenians by Ottoman Turks genocide. Bush criticised the U.S. Congress for considering the legislation. "One thing Congress should not be doing is sorting out the historical record of the Ottoman Empire. The resolution on the mass killings of Armenians beginning in 1915 is counterproductive. Both Republicans and Democrats, including every ...