President Bush on 23 March told reporters that the US had made clear to Turkey its opposition to Ankara sending troops into northern Iraq. 'We've got more troops up north, and we're making it very clear to the Turks that we expect them not to come into northern Iraq,' Bush said. 'They know our policy, and it's a firm policy -and they know we're working with the Kurds to make sure there's not an incident that would cause there to be an excuse to go into northern Iraq.' However, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan the same day defended Ankara's right to deploy troops in the north to prevent a flood of refugees into Turkey. A number of troops are already in the area. A senior Turkish government source quoted on the BBC's Today radio programme said that while current deployment plans were solely motivated by the refugee question, as many as 30,000 troops could be deployed if any threat to Turkish sovereignty emerged, including attempts to create an independent Kurdish state.