WASHINGTON
Turkey's ambassador to the U.S. on Wednesday responded to wide-ranging criticisms against his country’s foreign and domestic policy from the former top U.S. diplomatic in Turkey.
Ambassador Serdar Kilic said Turkey and the U.S. stood "side by side in fighting terrorism" and that it is irrelevant if the target is Daesh, Al Nusra Front or the PKK because there is no difference between terrorist groups.
"In this struggle, there is no room for moral relativism," the ambassador added.
Kilic remarks come on the heels of an op-ed piece penned last week by former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Eric Edelman, who said Turkey was "driven by domestic political considerations, rather than a fundamental rethinking of its Syria strategy"; and that Turkey was using the fight against Daesh in Syria for its own fight against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq for Turkey's own self-defense.
Kilic took exception to the charge and said he found it “ironic that those who championed the march of folly that was the invasion of Iraq in 2003 now turn around and criticize Turkey’s actions in self-defense against the myriad threats that emerged as a direct result of the mess they created”.
Addressing the former Bush official’s assertion that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has attempted to consolidate power and turn the country into a “one party state,” Kilic said Turkey’s democratic credentials were "beyond reproach," displayed not only in parliamentary elections June, but also with re-elections scheduled to take place Nov. 1.
Kilic also rebuffed contentions by Edelman that Erdogan has used the current crisis in the region "as a smoke screen” to launch an air war against another listed terror group – the Democratic Union Party (PYD) in Syria – that has "unleashed a new wave of repression aimed at Kurds in Turkey," and dragged Turkey "into civil war".
Kilic said Turkey was not responsible for the chaos along it southern borders, and was quick to emphasize political, military and humanitarian assistance his country has provided for the people in the region.
"That is clearly much more than what many prominent members of the international community can say for themselves," Kilic said.
Turkey’s decision to allow the U.S.-led coalition use of the Incirlik Air Base in the south would cost "too high" a price for the U.S. and Turkish governments, according to Edelman.
But the White House has repeatedly Turkey has a right to "self-defense" in its fight with the PKK and that the opening of Incirlik had nothing to do with its fight with PKK.
Washington also said this week that Turkey has gone "above and beyond" what is expected of it in its response to Syrian refugees pouring in to the country from the south.
Turkey has hosted approximately 1.9 million Syrian refugees, including 217,000 in 22 camps, as of Aug. 25, according to the UN Refugee Agency.
The total number of the Syrian refugees worldwide exceeds 4 million.
Incirlik Air Base located close to Turkey’s border with war-torn Syria was opened in July to coalition forces after an agreement was reached with the Turkish government to expand operations against Daesh.
On July 20, a deadly suicide bombing in the southeastern Suruc district that killed 34 civilians was blamed on Daesh.
Due to the close proximity of the opening of Incirlik and Turkey's fight against PKK, Turkey has been blamed for using Incirlik to attack not only Daesh but also PKK.
Operations against Daesh and the PKK have intensified following renewed attacks on Turkish security forces following the Suruc bombing.
Approximately 1,600 suspects have been arrested in waves of counter-terrorism raids amid a spike in attacks targeting security officers.
