Rice Visits Turkey, Gives Assurances over Iraq 
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice held talks with Turkish officials in Ankara, Sunday, February 6, 2005, giving them assurance that Washington is committed to preserve Iraq's unity, and also to combat Turkish Kurd rebels holed up in the north of Iraq. She met with Turkish President Ahmet Necdet Sezer , Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and her counterpart Abdullah Gul. Rice's visit follows harsh warnings from Ankara that Washington is paving the way for future Kurdish independence in the region.