WASHINGTON
It is time to build "more structured" ties with the US while using parliamentary diplomacy, Fuat Oktay, chair of the Turkish parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee said Friday.
"It is time to improve relations in both the House of Representatives and the Senate," Oktay said at a news conference after having talks with US officials.
During his visit to Washington, Oktay said he met separately with four senators and 12 congressmen with whom he "directly" discussed Türkiye-US relations and regional issues, including the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.
The fight against terrorism and NATO's enlargement process were on the agenda, he said.
Stressing that Türkiye is not against the enlargement of the alliance, Oktay said: "If NATO is a security umbrella, which it is, each member must have absolute trust in the other."
Although Türkiye best fulfills its responsibility toward NATO, Oktay said, some NATO members do not show sensitivity in the fight against terrorism.
"Regarding the fight against PKK, we stated directly in one-on-one meetings that it is unacceptable for a state like the US to cooperate with another terrorist organization under the pretext of fighting against a terrorist organization, namely Daesh," he said.
Ankara cannot accept that one of its allies in NATO is partnering with the PKK, training its members or supplying weapons to the group, he stressed.
Türkiye has long complained of the US working with the PKK/YPG on the pretext of fighting the Daesh/ISIS terror group. Turkish officials have said using one terrorist group to fight another makes no sense.
Ankara has launched a trio of successful anti-terror operations since 2016 across its border in northern Syria to prevent the formation of a terror corridor and enable the peaceful settlement of residents: Euphrates Shield (2016), Olive Branch (2018) and Peace Spring (2019).
In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Türkiye, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the US and the European Union -- has been responsible for the deaths of more than 40,000 people, including women, children and infants.
The YPG is the PKK’s Syrian offshoot.
Gaza
Turning to Israel's onslaught against Gaza, Oktay said although Türkiye and the US have differences of opinions, both countries agree on a three-stage road map.
"Establishing a permanent cease-fire as soon as possible. Secondly, delivering humanitarian aid to Gaza without interruption, and thirdly ... realizing a two-state solution as soon as possible," he added.
Stressing that the US is one of those countries that will stop the war, and it needs to increase pressure on Israel, Oktay added Türkiye can make all the necessary contributions related to Palestine.
The former vice president underlined that Türkiye has no problem with Israelis, rather it has a problem with the Israeli government and its policies.
"If Palestine had done the same to Israel, we would have shown a similar attitude, he said. “We are a nation that always supports the oppressed ... it is not possible for us to ignore this.”
Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 Hamas incursion, which killed less than 1,200 people.
Tel Aviv, in comparison, has killed more than 34,600 Palestinians and wounded nearly 77,800 amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities in the Palestinian territory.
Nearly seven months into the Israeli onslaught, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement besides a crippling blockade on food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in January issued an interim ruling that ordered Tel Aviv to prevent genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
Oktay added that the Cyprus issue, the peace process between Azerbaijan and Armenia, the Russia-Ukraine war, Türkiye's bid to purchase F-16 fighter jets from the US and Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) were also on the agenda during talks with US officials.
