SPIEGEL: Mr. Zebari, you yourself are a Kurd. What is your assessment of the Turkish invasion of northern Iraq?

Zebari: They started by bombing two bridges over the Sab River. When the Turkish army destroys such infrastructure, it is not only damaging the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), but also us, the Iraqi state. On Friday, we summoned Turkish diplomats and handed over a strong letter of protest.

SPIEGEL: Rather than speaking of limited bombardments, current reports suggest that as many as 10,000 soldiers invaded northern Iraq.

Zebari: We have not been able to detect an offensive on that scale. Three months ago, the Turkish Army was authorized by the Turkish parliament to conduct military incursions across the border. Then there was talk of a massive ground invasion of up to 140,000 men. What actually has happened over the past few months was indiscriminate bombardment -- and now this most recent offensive. The densely populated swathes of land in northern Iraq, our cities, have not been affected by the operations. What is happening there has taken place in very remote regions. Don’t forget: It is winter in the mountains of Kurdistan. The snow up there does not make army operations easy.

SPIEGEL: So you are saying it has not been all that bad?

Zebari: No. The situation is serious. And if Turkey has the intention of routinely crossing the border in the future, the situation will escalate. That will then jeopardize everything that we have achieved in Kurdistan, our most peaceful region.

SPIEGEL: Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani's statements on Turkey are considerably tougher than yours.