Abdullah Gul, speaking a day after his prime minister's talks with the U.S. president, said: "The U.S. has its share of responsibility in the fight against the terrorist PKK."

At Monday's meeting between premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan and George W. Bush in Washington, the U.S. leader pledged to share military intelligence with Ankara on Kurdish militants. The separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has killed around 40 Turkish troops and civilians since late September, is considered a terrorist organization by both Turkey and the U.S.

Turkey has now amassed up to 150,000 troops in anticipation of a major military operation, which has been backed by parliament, against around 3,500 PKK insurgents based in Iraq.

President Gul said his country has reached a decision on military action against the separatists, but did not specify what measures would be taken.

However, he stressed that Turkey has no plans to occupy Iraq.

"Our goal is to wipe out the terrorist PKK. We respect Iraq's territorial integrity and stability. The PKK threatens not only Turkey, but also stability in Iraq," he said.

Prime Minister Erdogan's talks with President Bush produced a framework of cooperation measures to counter the PKK.

Bush said: "We talked about the need for our military to stay in constant contact. To this end, the prime minister and I have set up a tripartite arrangement."

The U.S. had earlier advised Turkey against a large-scale cross-border operation against Kurdish separatists. - RIA Novosti