The foreign ministers of Iran and Turkey announced plans to cooperate against rebels of the Kurdistan Workers‘ Party, and its Iranian wing, the Party of Free Life of Kurdistan, during a joint news conference in Ankara. Both groups, labeled as terrorist organizations by the United States, have been fighting for Kurdish autonomy in their respective countries.
“Our joint determination to struggle against the PKK and the PJAK will continue in the strongest way,” Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said. “From now on, we will work together in a joint action plan until this terrorist threat is totally eliminated.”
Turkey launched a cross-border offensive against Kurdish rebel hideouts in Iraq on Wednesday after the rebels near the border town of Cukurca killed 24 soldiers. It was the deadliest one-day toll against the military since the mid-1990s.
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi claimed that the deaths of Turkish soldiers might have been avoided if the United States had informed Turkey that the rebels were infiltrating into Turkey with heavy weaponry. This accusation was disproven when Turkish officials told reporter that the US shares intelligence from surveillance drones with Turkey about movement of Kurdish rebels along the border.
Some have called the cooperation a new chapter in the region, however, for most officials the partnership maybe one of limited stance, created only to stop a mutual enemy for a short time, as Turkey may fear of distancing the United States in the long-term.
(아주경제 앤드류 이 기자)
reporter
Park Sae-jin
swatchsjp@ajunews.com
Copyright ⓒ Aju Press All rights reserved.
View more comments