Former top general: US would disapprove of Kurdish state in Iraq due to Turkish, Iranian opposition

Former General Chief of Staff İlker Başbuğ said on Thursday that as long as Ankara and Tehran stand against an independent Kurdish state in Northern Iraq, the U.S. would not support such an entity.

In a speech at Gazi University in Ankara, Başbuğ said that DAESH will be purged from Mosul sooner or later and this development will determine Iraq's future.

"Events that took place until now shows this; Kurds resettle the places where ISIS [DAESH] leaves. The same thing happens everywhere. Will it also happen in Mosul? It might highly likely happen. … Is there any power that will prevent the foundation of an independent Kurdish state in Iraq? There are Turkey and Iran. As long as these two countries are against an independent Kurdish state in Northern Iraq, the U.S. would not green light such an entity."

Başbuğ also acknowledged that Turkey acted legally when it shot down the Russian Su-24 jet in November.

He also claimed that the main reason for the rising tide of terrorism in Turkey is the incidents in Syria and Iraq and said the reasons for the PKK restarting its armed campaign in July 2015 after breaking the cease-fire with the Turkish state must be understood well.

Turkey's southeast has been the scene of significant military operations since late 2015, as the police and army seek to clear urban areas of PKK terrorists.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and EU, resumed its 30-year armed campaign against the Turkish state in July. Since then, the military has been conducting airstrikes on PKK camps in Northern Iraq to terminate the threat the militants pose to Turkey. More than 3,700 PKK terrorists have been killed, according to the Turkish military, and more than 400 members of the security forces have been killed.