Shafaq News/ On Wednesday, the Spokesperson for the Turkish President, Recep Tayyib Erdogan, said his country would not allow the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to '" nest" in northern Iraq.
Speaking to Anadolu, Ibrahim Kalin revealed that despite PKK fighters' wide presence in northern Iraq, Turkiye fully supports Iraq's territorial integrity and political unity."But if the territory of Iraq becomes a place where terrorist organizations are used to threaten our country, we have to take steps."
"We know that the PKK has a very serious establishment in Sulaymaniyah," Kalin said, adding that Turkiye will not disregard this.
"No matter where the PKK exists, we will never allow it to nest there and become a threat to our country," he added.
The PKK is a Kurdish militant group fighting for greater autonomy and rights for Kurds in Turkey since 1984. The group is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States, and the European Union.
The Turkish military has conducted numerous airstrikes and ground operations against PKK targets in northern Iraq since the early 2000s. The operations have often sparked tensions between Turkey and Iraq, as the Iraqi government has criticized Turkey's actions as violating its sovereignty.
The Turkish government has defended its military operations in Iraq as necessary to protect its national security and prevent PKK attacks on Turkish soil.
However, the operations have been criticized by some human rights groups for causing civilian casualties and displacement in the affected areas.