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Turkey opposes Germany sending arms to PKK

Türkiye Materials 17 October 2014 09:05 (UTC +04:00)
Turkey opposes Germany sending arms to PKK
Turkey opposes Germany sending arms to PKK

Turkey decides who to help [arm] within its own territories, Turkish Minister for EU Affairs Volkan Bozkir told reporters on Thursday in Brussels where he announced Turkey's new EU strategy Anadolu Agenbcy reported

His remarks came after Germany, on Thursday, said they can send arms to the outlawed PKK that is fighting the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant in Kobani.

Turkey opposes Germany to arm the PKK to fight ISIL in the Syrian town of Kobani at the Turkish-Syria border.

Bozkir said that both the PKK and ISIL were terrorist groups adding that the PKK was also on the terror lists of the U.S., NATO and Turkey.

Turkey has launched what is publicly known as "the solution process" to end more than three decades of fighting with the PKK, which has claimed more than 40,000 lives.

"It is out of question to send arms to some groups [in Turkey] secretly," Bozkir said.

He criticized Germany for debating whether to accept 16 thousand refugees into the country, while Turkey has allowed nearly 200 thousand people from Kobani fleeing ISIL attacks.

He also said that countries criticizing Turkey for not doing enough in the fight against ISIL should take action and send their troops to Syria.

The Syrian town of Kobani has been the scene of fierce battles between Kurdish groups and ISIL since mid-September.

The international coalition has been staging airstrikes on ISIL targets in Syria and Iraq since early August.

Turkey has been pushing the international community, including the UN to establish a no-fly zone and a safe haven for refugees inside Syria near the Turkish border.

Thousands of civilians from the Syrian border town of Kobani have fled into Turkey from ISIL attacks since mid-September.

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