US seeks to defuse diplomatic spat with Turkey

Turkey had summoned the US ambassador, infuriated by conditionality of US statement on deaths of 13 Turks.

The United States has attempted to de-escalate a diplomatic dispute with NATO ally Turkey, which had earlier summoned the US ambassador about a statement on the killing of 13 kidnapped Turks in Iraq. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had lashed out at the State Department’s initial hesitance to blame the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) for the deaths, calling the initial US statement “a farce”. Turkey said on Sunday fighters from the outlawed PKK executed the 13 captives, including Turkish military and police personnel. The PKK blamed Turkish air raids for the 13 deaths.