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
Bülent Ecevit solu"), which proved controversial. In the 1973 general election, the CHP won a plurality of the votes and seats in parliament. Despite the party's secular credentials, Ecevit formed a coalition with the Islamist National Salvation Party (MSP) headed by Necmettin Erbakan. Despite lasting only ten months, Ecevit's first government was responsible for the successful Turkish invasion of Cyprus, for which he is nicknamed the 'conqueror of Cyprus' (Turkish: "Kıbrıs Fatihi"). Despite winning an increased share of the votes and seats in the 1977 general election, Ecevit was unable to form a coalition and instead formed a minority government which lasted