"We are making it very clear to Turkey that we don't think it is in their interests to send troops into Iraq," the embattled US president said, in a mild rebuke to a key US ally in the war-torn country.

Striking a more confrontational tone, Bush urged Democrats who control the US Congress to abandon a resolution calling the World War I massacre of Armenians in Turkey "genocide" -- a measure that has angered the Turks.

"Congress has more important work to do than antagonizing a democratic ally in the Muslim world, especially one that's providing vital support for our military every day," he said, branding the measure "counterproductive."

But bucking angry Chinese objections, the US president staunchly defended his decision to meet with the Dalai Lama and lead an unprecedented official tribute to Tibet's spiritual leader at the US Capitol.

"I support religious freedom. He supports religious freedom," Bush said, defending his decision to meet privately with the Dalai Lama and attend the ceremony. "I don't think it's going to damage -- severely damage -- relations."

The US president urged China to open talks with the 1989 Nobel Peace laureate, whom Beijing considers a dangerous separatist seeking independence for Tibet.

Bush also downplayed a simmering disagreement with Russia over Iran's nuclear program, while saying that anyone "interested in avoiding World War III" must support efforts to keep Tehran from acquiring atomic weapons.

Bush said that while he and Russian President Vladimir Putin "don't agree on a lot of issues. We do agree on some -- Iran is one" and said he hoped to hear from Putin on his historic trip to Iran.

Bush declined to predict what Putin, who has suggested he may become prime minister after stepping down as president before elections next year, would do, saying he had "no idea" what the Russian leader would do.

The US president also declined to predict whether democratic reforms would survive in Moscow, saying it was difficult "to reprogram the kind of basic Russian DNA, which is a centralized authority."

Even as he spoke, Turkey's parliament brushed aside worries from Washington and Baghdad and overwhelmingly approved possible military strikes on Kurdish separatists like the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

The PKK, which has struck at targets in Turkey from its bases in northern Iraq, has waged a bloody campaign for Kurdish self-rule in southeast Turkey since 1984. The conflict has claimed more than 37,000 lives.

Bush highlighted Iraqi diplomatic efforts to avert an incursion by Turkey, including appeals by leaders of the Baghdad government for more time to clamp down on PKK activities.

"There's a better way to deal with the issue than having the Turks send ... massive additional troops into the country," said Bush, who noted that Turkey already has forces in Iraq to help US-led efforts.

Turkey says the PKK enjoys free movement in northern Iraq, is tolerated by local Kurdish leaders and obtains weapons and explosives there for attacks across the border in Turkey.

At the Pentagon, spokesman Geoff Morrell said Turkey had "not a great deal of appetite" for a military incursion in Iraq and insisted there was no "rush to war" in Ankara.

Asked why US forces in Iraq did not take on the PKK, which Washington has designated a terrorist organization, Morrell said "there is only so much we can do at one time," citing US efforts against other extremist groups.

Bush also said he was upbeat about a US-sponsored Middle East peace conference, saying that "now is the time" for Israelis and Palestinians to "lay out a vision of what a (Palestinian) state could look like."

He said doing so was critical to secure increased Arab support for the peace process and because the Palestinians "have been made promises all these years" and need to see some progress towards keeping them.

related report
Pentagon sees little Turkish appetite for an Iraq incursion
Turkey has little appetite for military action against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, a step that would have "enormous implications" for Ankara as well as Washington, a Pentagon spokesman said Wednesday.

Geoff Morrell, the Pentagon press secretary, said senior US officials urged restraint and a diplomatic solution to the crisis when they met with their Turkish counterparts over the weekend in Ankara.

The Turkish parliament, however, voted Tuesday to give the government authority to launch cross border operations against PKK rebels in Kurdish areas of northern Iraq.

"The Turks are clearly frustrated, they are clearly angry. But I also think there is not a great deal of apetite to take this next step," said Morrell.

"It would be an enormous step. It would have enormous implications, not just for us but for the Turks. I don't think there is any rush to war on the part of the Turks."

Asked why US forces in Iraq did not take on the PKK, which Washington has designated a terrorist organization, Morrell said "there is only so much we can do at one time."

"We have our hands full dealing with Al-Qaeda, extreme elements of Jaish al Mahdi, dealing with other terrorist elements and insurgents within Iraq. So that is where our efforts are concentrated at this time," he said.

"We don't deny they have a problem," he said of the Turks. "We are very sympathetic to the fact that they have been subjected to terrorist attacks by members of the PKK, but we are really urging the best way of dealing with this terrorist is by diplomatic means," he said.

Morrell said Turkey has had three battalions inside northern Iraq since the late 1990s, but they have been largely confined to their base and their movements must be coordinated with coalition forces.

Turkey is believed to have a larger force that could move across the Iraqi border with little warning.

US officials are worried about Turkish reaction to a US congressional resolution denouncing the World War I "genocide" of Armenians in the former Ottoman Empire.

Barring US access to Turkish airspace and roads could disrupt supplies to US forces in Iraq, and sow turmoil in one of the few parts of Iraq that is stable.

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