Violence in Turkey could push US to pick sides in Turkey, PKK battle
The escalation of violence in Turkey is reaching such a magnitude that Turkey may not be an effective coalition partner against Washington’s priority, the Islamic State.
The US State Department denies it has been in talks with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), contrary to a PKK leader's comments published Aug. 17 in the Daily Telegraph of London.
State Department spokesman John Kirby, in his daily briefing Aug. 17 in Washington, was asked about the newspaper's interview with Kurdish political leader Cemil Bayik, who said the PKK would accept a cease-fire with Turkey under US guarantees. Bayik referred to indirect talks with the United States.
Bayik is a founder and a top-ranking official of the PKK — which has been designated a terrorist group by the United States and Turkey — as well as a leader of the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), the political umbrella organization of which the PKK is a part. ”Of course there are messages, there are meetings, letters and they are likely to develop more,” Bayik said of communications with the United States.
Kirby flatly dismissed Bayik's comments.
