ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The “fight against the PKK” will be at the top of US Defense Secretary James Mattis’ agenda when he meets with his Turkish counterpart along with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday, according to the US Defense Department.
“Secretary Mattis will emphasize the steadfast commitment of the United States to Turkey as a NATO ally and strategic partner, seek to collaborate on efforts to advance regional stability and look for ways to help Turkey address its legitimate security concerns, including the fight against the PKK,” Col. Rob Manning, the director of the US defense press office told reporters on Friday.
Manning will meet with the Turkish ministers of defense, foreign affairs and Erdogan.
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is a listed terrorist organization by Turkey and the United States. The group has waged a three-decades-long guerrilla insurgency against the Turkish government that re-ignited in July 2015 after an ISIS suicide bombing killed 33 young pro-Kurdish activists in Suruc during a press conference announcing a trip to help with the reconstruction of the Syrian town of Kobane.
Since then, the International Crisis Group (ICG) has confirmed 2,982 deaths. That includes 977 Turkish security forces, 1,378 PKK fighters, 219 youth of unknown affiliation, and 408 civilians.
Ankara links the PKK to the Peoples’ Protection Units (YPG), a group comprised of mostly Kurds, who the United States is supporting in the war against ISIS in Syria. The YPG and its political wing, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), deny any organic links to the PKK.
The United States has provided arms to Kurdish fighters in Syria, which the Turkish government believes will be used by PKK fighters.
“We agree 100 percent with Turkey's concern about PKK, a named terrorist group. It is conducting an active insurgency in Turkey. It has orcestrated the killing of innocent Turkish civilians and Turkish soldiers ... and we support Turkey in its fight against PKK as a fellow NATO member," Mattis said in London after meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirm in May.
The United States military has tried to assure the Turks that arms and equipment will be metered out in an as-needed basis and will be accounted for, only going to vetted partnered forces to be used against ISIS. Earlier in August, the US Ambassador to Turkey denied media reports that the United States had supplied tanks to the YPG.
Prior to being in Ankara, Mattis will travel to Jordan and meet with King Abdullah II and the Jordan's chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff for the first time as defense secretary.
“The secretary will express US appreciation for Jordanian efforts to combat ISIS and reaffirm U.S. commitment to stand shoulder to shoulder with Jordan in facing regional and global challenges,” Manning said.
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