Biden terms PKK outrageous, hails Turkey’s help in IS fight

ISTANBUL: US Vice President Joe Biden on Saturday condemned the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) as a “terror group plain and simple” and a threat to Turkey like the militant Islamic State (IS) group, hailing the growing cooperation with Ankara in the fight against militants.

After talks with Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Istanbul, Biden pleased his hosts with a ringing denunciation of the “outrageous” attacks by the PKK, which the Turkish military is seeking to cripple in a relentless but controversial campaign.

He praised much closer cooperation in the fight against IS between Washington and Ankara, which had been accused in the past of turning a blind eye to the extremists.

He also spoke of the possibility of a “military operation” in Syria should peace talks fail but the White House later made clear he was only referring to current coalition military operations against IS.

The PKK, listed as a terror group by Washington and the EU, has killed dozens of members of the Turkish security forces in attacks since a truce collapsed in July.

However Turkey has expressed concern that Washington was seeking to woo the PKK as an ally in the fight against IS and vehemently opposed any move to delist it as a terror group.

Ankara is also concerned about the extent of US cooperation in Syria with the People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Turkey sees as a branch of the PKK. IS “is not the only existential threat to the people of Turkey, the PKK is equally a threat and we are aware of that... it is a terror group plain and simple and what they continue to do is absolutely outrageous,” Biden said.

For more detail   Biden terms PKK outrageous, hails Turkey’s help in IS fight

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