US urges PKK to ‘renounce violence,’ re-engage in peace talks

ISTANBUL

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The U.S. State Department urged the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) on Aug. 3 to stop its attacks against Turkey and return to dialogue with the Turkish government amid the ongoing conflict in the country’s east.

“These attacks are only exacerbating the continuation and the cycle of violence here. We want to see these attacks cease. We want to see the PKK renounce violence and re-engage in talks with the government of Turkey. And as I said, we want to see the Turkish government respond proportionately,” said spokesperson Mark Toner, commenting on a recent PKK suicide attack on a military station in Turkey’s east that killed two soldiers and wounded 20.

Toner also touched on a controversial Aug. 1 Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) airstrike on a northern Iraqi village that reportedly killed at least nine civilians.

“I don’t know the specifics of these attacks, but often – not often, but sometimes, when you have airstrikes or civilians in the area, they can be affected – but these are airstrikes being carried out against PKK targets. And again, just going to the root of this, the PKK has carried out attacks against Turkey. We have defended Turkey’s right to self-defense in this case, but we want to see the violence end, we want to see the PKK cease its attacks, and as I said, the Turkish government to respond proportionately,” Toner said.