2008 Turkish incursion into northern Iraq day of the operation, Turkish President Abdullah Gül made a telephone call to Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, himself a Kurd, to brief him on the details of the incursion. He also invited Talabani to come to Turkey. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he called Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki on the night the ground operation began, and later U.S. President George W. Bush. The United States was guarded in its response to the incursion, requesting that Turkey take care to only target the PKK, to "limit the scope and duration of their operations," and to work with Iraqi
Recep Gürkan with the partner town Lörrach since his time at Trakya University. Gürkan is married and has two children. Recep Gürkan Recep Gürkan (born 1 August 1964 in İpsala, Edirne Province) is a Turkish politician of the CHP. He was previously a member of Parliament, and since 30 March 2014 he is mayor of Edirne. After finishing school he continued his education at Trakya University in Edirne and the Anadolu University in Eskişehir. His final exams were in the Faculty of Social Science, Department of Administration. After his studies, Guerkan became a teacher and headmaster in a number of Turkish schools,