Freies Politikforum für Demokraten und Anarchisten

palestina libera · Beiträge: 1665

Joe Biden, the US Vice President, said on Saturday that Washington recognised the "existential threat" to Turkey posed by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and compared it to the Islamic State (IS) group in comments supportive of Turkey's recent crackdown on suspected Kurdish militants and their supporters.

Speaking alongside Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish prime minister, at a press conference in Istanbul, Biden said that the PKK, which has waged a decades-long separatist struggle mostly in Turkey's Kurdish-majority southeast, was a "a terror group plain and simple".

IS was "not the only existential threat to the people of Turkey, the PKK is equally a threat and we are aware of that," Biden told reporters.

"We do agree with you that in terms of their actions Daesh [IS], PKK and al-Nusra [al-Qaeda's Syria affiliate] ... are simply terrorist groups," said Biden.
http://www.middleeasteye.net/news/pkk-terrorist-group-says-us-vice-president-joe-biden-225676777

Turkey’s difficulties with Syrian Kurds complicate strategy against Islamic State

Turkey and the United States continued Saturday to disagree about the status of Kurdish forces who have become a key part of the U.S. strategy to defeat the Islamic State in Syria.

In statements after a two-hour meeting here, Vice President Biden and Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu praised the sometimes rocky U.S.-Turkish alliance. Calling Turkey a “strategic partner,” Biden said the relationship is “enduring, it’s rooted in history, it’s in the hearts of our people.”

But in the stew of overlapping conflicts, regional rivalries and competing interests in the civil war in Syria, and the expansion of the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, U.S.-Turkey ties have often been strained. Biden’s visit here was intended to shore them up, officials traveling with him said, and to add some high-level impetus to resolving a range of issues.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/syrian-kurds-are-snag-in-us-turkey-strategy-against-isis/2016/01/23/20eba1bc-c1e2-11e5-9443-7074c3645405_story.html

U.S.-Turkey Relations

The United States and Turkey have a long history of alliance, partnership and cooperation. Today, the relationship between the two continues to develop and grow in importance through mutual values, shared interests in security and stability in the region and beyond, fighting terrorism and extremism, and economic collaboration.
http://www.tc-america.org/issues-information/us-turkey-relations-27.htm

U.S.-Turkey Business Council

The U.S.-Turkey Business Council (USTBC) is the premier business advocacy organization established to expand the bilateral commercial relationship and increase trade and investment between the United States and Turkey. The Council represents more than 40 of the largest U.S. companies from various industries with investments in Turkey. With offices both in Washington, D.C. and Istanbul, the Council acts as the principal interlocutor for U.S. businesses operating in Turkey.

The USTBC is a core program of the Turkey and Middle East Affairs, located at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. It is part of the U.S. Chamber’s International Affairs, which boasts a collection of top trade, policy, and legal experts who advocate on behalf of the U.S. private sector across the globe. The Council has full access to the U.S. Chamber’s congressional and legal affairs divisions, as well as various Chamber institutes and programs. This access can be used to advance USTBC policies, programs, and initiatives.
http://www.usturkeybusiness.com/