PRESS TV, Iran

Turkey condemns US support for PKK

Sun, 23 Sep 2007 11:06:15

Turkish FM Ali Babacan

Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan says US cooperation with the
armed PKK movement can endanger Ankara-Washington relations.

Babacan also warned that acknowledgement of a mass murder of Armenians
as genocide by the US Congress can harm US-Turkey relations.

The Turkish foreign minister, currently in the United States, said
that the Turkish people cannot comprehend why the PKK is launching
attacks against Turkey from Iraq.

Recent reports regarding the transfer of American weapons to the PKK
has made the Ankara-Washington relations intense, just as the
conflicts between the Turkish army and the PKK have also intensified,
Babacan remarked.

"We are expecting both the United States and the Iraqi governments to
take urgent, firm steps in bringing the PKK terrorists to justice,"
Babacan told a meeting on Thursday held at the Chicago Council on
Global Affairs.

"Turkey cannot accept a third party playing the role of judge or jury,
and taking sides," Babacan said regarding a resolution in the US
Congress on Armenian allegations concerning the incidents of 1915 .

"We would like to see that the US Congress does not take sides in this
matter, and that common sense prevails. This is an issue that has to
be dealt with by Turks and Armenians," Babacan stressed.

AO/JG/BGH