Turkey ? Defense Secretary Robert Gates said he told Turkish leaders Thursday that they should end an offensive against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq as soon as possible. Yet even as Gates made his appeal, the Turkish military pressed ahead.

Gates told reporters after his talks with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and other Turkish leaders that he made no threats to pull U.S. intelligence support.

“I think they got our message,” Gates said.

Turkish officials did not discuss any deadline for winding up the offensive, Gates said. The Pentagon chief also said he did not know whether the longtime NATO ally would end the operation in a week, as he asked.

“I stand by where I’ve been on this. And that is that they should wrap this thing up as soon as they can,” Gates said.

In Washington, President Bush and his top military adviser, Joint Chiefs chairman Adm. Michael Mullen, made similar points.