After a US representative told Turkish media outlets that both Turkey and the pro-Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) are allies of the US in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), there has been a debate as to whether Turkey will indirectly also have to befriend the PYD, a claim that diplomatic and military sources have strongly denied. Brett McGurk, the deputy special presidential envoy for the global coalition against ISIS, in a recent interview with the Hürriyet daily differentiated between the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and the PYD, which is seen as the PKK's political wing in Syria. "The PKK is a designated terrorist organization. The PYD under our laws has a different status. The PYD and the People's Protection Units [YPG] within Syria have been very effective against Daesh," he said. Upon being asked if he thought that Turkey and the PYD's cooperation would benefit the fight against ISIS, McGurk said: "We're talking to the PYD. Turkey is talking to the PYD. Everybody's kind of talking to each other," adding, "But again, I'd leave it to the government of Turkey in terms of their formal relationship with the PYD or their discussions with the PYD." According to a Hürriyet report on Monday, several intelligence and diplomatic sources have ruled out any cooperation between Turkey and the PYD. "Turkey has very important intelligence sources regarding the regions and movements near the Syrian border where ISIS is," an unnamed source told Hürriyet. "According to the data obtained, the coordinates of ISIL's high-ranking and military collection points have been determined. Some centers have even been marked as targets of laser guided missiles." The source, however, stated that while Turkey did share some of its intelligence with the US, it would not allow the PYD to access its pool of intelligence so as not to be seen as an ally of the PYD. Turkey until recently considered the PYD a terrorist organization just like ISIS, while Washington has held a different view over the role of the Kurdish group in the fight against ISIS militants. Another source that spoke to Hürriyet said that despite the fact that Ankara may no longer consider the PYD a terrorist organization, this does not mean it will be allies. The interview published on the US State Department's website on Thursday noted that McGurk had underlined the US's commitment to Turkey's right of self-defense. "Turkey is a long-term partner and NATO ally of ours. And these attacks were started by the PKK. If the PKK did not launch attacks in Turkey, Turkey would not be launching its air strikes against the PKK." The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) has been bombing PKK targets since the armed group assassinated two police officers on July 22 in retaliation for the state failing to prevent a suspected ISIS militant from detonating a suicide bomb in Şanlıurfa's Suruç district killing 34 and injuring over 100. Those killed were reportedly taking toys and books to Kobani, a contested Syrian border town currently under the control of Kurdish fighters. The TSK has since been bombing PKK targets in northern Iraq. Nearly 40 security forces have been killed in terrorist attacks since the PKK ended the cease-fire.
