Turkey welcomes US putting bounties on PKK leaders

ANKARA

Turkish Foreign Ministry has welcomed the U.S. State Department’s decision to put multi-million-dollar bounties on the heads of three senior members of the illegal PKK.

In a written statement on Nov. 7, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hami Aksoy said: “We expect this step to be supported by concrete actions to be made in Iraq and Syria as part of fighting against PKK and its extensions.”

The United States said on Nov. 6 that it is offering up to $5 million for information leading to the identification or location of Murat Karayılan, Cemil Bayik or Duran Kalkan.

The announcement followed U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Palmer’s official visit to the capital, Ankara.

The PKK is designated a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU.