Turkish army will fight Kurd Labor Party (PKK) till the end, Chief of the Turkish Joint Staff Ulker Bashburg said at a Turkey-U.S. forum in Ankara, Anadolu reported.
The leader of the combat wing of the PKK Murat Karayylan said that he is ready for negotiations with Ankara. He called on Turkey not to miss this opportunity. "If it is missed, there would not be such opportunities any more," he said.
PKK was established with the support of the USSR in late 1970s. Initially, the organization has acted as a political party, but since late 1980 its members began to carry out attacks against civilians and military targets in Turkey. The main purpose of the organization is to establish independent Kurdish state in southeastern Turkey and northern Iraq where basically the Kurds live. Base camp of separatists is located in Kandil mountains in northern Iraq. Turkish Armed Forces regularly conduct anti-terrorist operations in the territory. In 1988, separatist ideas began to spread among the Kurdish population of Iraq's city of Halabja. Then leader Saddam Hussein used chemical weapons against the population of the town. Nearly a million civilians died as a result.
"The Turkish army will continue to fight PKK regardless of where these terrorists are based," Bashburg said.
Bashburg said PKK terrorist organization based on northern Iraq poses danger not only for Turkey, but also for Iraq.