TALKING TURKEY

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Strobe Talbott opened talks with the Turkish foreign minister in Ankara today to persuade the U.S. ally to end its massive cross-border attacks onrebel Kurds based in Iraq. The last time U.S. officials spoke about the issue, they supported the crackdown -- as long as the war didn't last too long. ButTIME State Department correspondent Sandra Burtonsays Talbott now has a strict deadline: the U.S., fearing international embarassment, wants a withdrawal underway by the time Prime Minister Tansu Ciller visits President Clinton at the White House next week.