(S/NF) TURKEY/PKK: PRT KIRKUK MEETING WITH PKK

S E C R E T ANKARA 004259 SIPDIS NOFORN SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 07/22/2021 TAGS: PREL PTER TU IZ SUBJECT: (S/NF) TURKEY/PKK: PRT KIRKUK MEETING WITH PKK FRONT PARTY REF: USELMANN-BURGER EMAILS Classified By: Ambassador Ross Wilson for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. (S/NF) Contacts in the Turkish National Intelligence Organization (TNIO) informed us July 20 that they understood American diplomats in northern Iraq had recently met with representatives of the Kurdistan Democratic Solutions Party (KDSP). The Kurdish press also carried this allegation. Contact with PRT Kirkuk (ref) confirmed that up to two meetings took place between U.S. officials and the KDSP in recent days. Our understanding has been that the KDSP acts as a front for the PKK (Kongra Gel) terrorist organization. ¶2. (S/NF) Anticipating that the Turkish press would soon pick up on the story, we informed Turkey's Deputy Iraq Coordinator Fazli Corman on July 21 that U.S. officials had met with KDSP reps inadvertently in the course of their contacts in northern Iraq. We assured Corman that it is not U.S. policy to have dealings with this or any other group believed associated with the PKK. We further assured Corman that there would be no further meetings of this kind. Corman appreciated our information, accepted our explanation, and promised to relay it to senior officials. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/ankara/ WILSON