Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 12
By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend:
Turkey spent more than $ 400 billion to combat terrorism from 1984 up until now, NTV TV channel quoted Turkish ex-Minister of Transport, Shipping and Communications Binali Yildirim Dec. 12 as saying.
Yildirim said that the country could use these funds to improve the economic situation.
At the same time, he said that the fight against terrorism is one of the priorities of Turkey.
The conflict between Turkey and the PKK, which demands the creation of an independent Kurdish state, continued for over 25 years and has claimed more than 40,000 lives.
The UN and the European Union listed the PKK as a terrorist organization.
The process of democratic settlement to the Kurdish problem in Turkey started in 2009. Afterwards, some PKK militants left the country's territory and moved to neighboring Iraq.
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Edited by CN