Türkiye will not shrink from taking additional steps if one of the government parties in northern Iraq fails to change its supportive attitude towards PKK terrorists, the Turkish foreign minister has said.
"We will not hesitate to take further measures if the PUK does not change its supportive attitude towards the PKK despite our sanctions against Sulaymaniyah in Iraq,” said Hakan Fidan on Tuesday, speaking of the PUK party, the junior partner in the Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq.
Addressing the Turkish parliament, Fidan said a consultation process with Iraqi authorities continues, with great efforts being made to help their evolving understanding of PKK terrorists.
He reiterated that Türkiye will not leave the separatist terrorist group any place to feel safe along its borders or elsewhere.
Sulaymaniyah's stance on PKK
The KDP, led by the Barzani family in Irbil, and the PUK, led by the Talabani family in Sulaymaniyah, the two most influential parties of the KRG in northern Iraq, have opposing policies regarding Türkiye's anti-PKK operations.
While the KDP supports Türkiye's operations and demands the withdrawal of the PKK from the north of Iraq, PUK officials oppose these operations.
Türkiye has closed its airspace to flights to and from Iraq's Sulaymaniyah airport amid PKK terrorist activities in the region and PUK's stance on these activities.
PKK terrorists often hide out in northern Iraq to plot cross-border attacks in Türkiye.
Continuous cross-border operations
Fidan’s remarks came in the wake of fresh PKK attacks in recent days taking the lives of 21 Turkish soldiers, followed by fierce Turkish attacks on terrorist targets in northern Iraq and Syria.
Türkiye launched Operation Claw-Lock in April 2022 to target the PKK terror organisation's hideouts in Iraq's northern Metina, Zap, and Avasin-Basyan regions near the Turkish border.
It was preceded by Operations Claw-Tiger and Claw-Eagle launched in 2020 to root out terrorists hiding out in northern Iraq and plotting cross-border attacks in Türkiye.
In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK — listed as a terrorist organisation by Türkiye, the US, UK, and the EU — has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.
The YPG is the PKK terror group's Syrian branch.
