MUNICH - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey will continue to battle terrorist organization PKK until the end, adding that the terrorist organization received significant support in European countries.
"Unfortunately, terrorists who were wanted by Interpol's red notice have not been extradited to Turkey and these terrorists have been released in Europe. Although it is labeled as a terrorist organization, we can not understand the release of these terrorists," Erdogan told the 44th Munich Conference on Security Policy in Germany.
"Despite it is classed as a terrorist organization, the PKK is still receiving support in many European countries under different names," Erdogan said.
Erdogan noted that the PKK existence in the north of Iraq is a serious security problem for Turkey and it is also an open threat to innocent people in Turkey.
"Our operations launched into north of Iraq does not target Iraqi people or the civilians. I would like to underline that. Turkey has no designs on even one inch of Iraq's territory. In fact, Turkey is the country that gives full support to preserving Iraq's territorial integrity and national unity," Erdogan reaffirmed.
"Let me put it very clearly," he said. "Our fight against terrorism will go on until we win. We will continue our operations until the end."
Erdogan said support from European countries regarding Turkey's operations against terrorist hideouts in the north of Iraq made Turkey more powerful.
"What has to be done now is to shut down shadow organizations of the terrorist organization, curb its financial resources, destroy its propaganda chances, make rapid and effective cooperation on several subjects such as extradition of terrorists," Erdogan stated.
He said the most important financial resource of the PKK was drug and human trafficking, noting that European youth would be the one to suffer from drug trafficking.