Washington – Turkey’s ambassador to Washington said Wednesday that U.S. weapons have been turning up in the hands of Kurdish guerrillas staging attacks in Turkey.
Nabi Sensoy said that the United States is not doing enough to influence Kurdish politicians in key positions in the Iraqi government to crack down on the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, which has been fighting for an independent Kurdistan within Turkey for decades. He said Turkey has been pressing the United States to ensure that U.S. weapons supplied to Kurdish forces within the Iraqi army are not funneled to the PKK.
He did not suggest that the U.S. has been supplying the PKK directly. But he accused Kurdish members of the Iraqi government of allowing the group to operate in northern Iraq and to stage cross-border attacks into Turkey.
The comments come as Turkish officials have indicated that they are considering military operations against the PKK in Iraq, a move that the United States fears would cause further instability.
While tensions between Ankara and Washington have increased, Turkey remains a key U.S. ally, providing vital support to U.S. operations in Afghanistan and Iraq through Incirlik Air Base in southern Turkey, one of the most important U.S. military assets in the region.
U.S. officials have said that they are working closely with Turkey to combat the PKK but that their focus in Iraq is in combating insurgents opposing U.S. forces. The United States considers the PKK a terrorist group.
