Americas

Americas

U.S. supports Turkey in combatting terrorism

03 December 2011 22:01 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. The U.S. Vice President Joe Biden gave a message to Turkish prime minister on Saturday that his country was standing by Turkey in combatting terrorism, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

The semi-official Anatolia news agency reported that Biden paid a visit to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul and discussed regional issues, particularly fighting against terrorism.

During the meeting, Erdogan underlined the importance of this support in countering terrorism.

Turkey and the U.S. Obama administration will step up their fight against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, as the United States completes its military withdrawal from Iraq.

At Erdogan’s residence in Istanbul’s Uskudar neighborhood, Biden wished him a quick recovery, as Erdogan underwent a laparoscopic surgery on his digestive system on Nov. 26 and was discharged from hospital on Nov. 29.

Before arriving in Turkey late Friday, Biden visited U.S. troops and political leaders in Iraq, which shares a border with southern Turkey. The PKK has its command center in northern Iraq’s mountains. The United States seeks to strengthen the three-way security collaboration with Turkey and Iraq.

More than 40,000 people have been killed since the conflict began in 1984. The United States, the European Union and Turkey designate the PKK as a terrorist organization.