US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice arrived in Ankara Friday morning for critical talks with Turkish leaders during which she will try to convince her hosts not to launch a cross-border operation into Iraq to hit Kurdish rebel bases, reported dpa. "Anything that would destabilize the north of Iraq is not going to be in Turkey's interest," US media reported Rice saying before a stopover in Ireland on her way to Ankara. Rice is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Foreign Minister Ali Babacan and President Abdullah Gul before flying to Istanbul to take part in an Iraqi neighbours regional conference.