Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said late Thursday that the presence of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq as well as Armenian genocide allegations are creating unease in Turkish-U.S. relations.

  The PKK terror and genocide claims are the two significant issues that need to be resolved in the relationship between Ankara and Washington, he said.  On the PKK's terrorism, Babacan said that it was not possible to explain the attacks launched by members of the outlawed group who roam freely in northern Iraq to the Turkish public.

  “We expect both the United States and the Iraqi government to take urgent and concrete measures for the delivery of the PKK terrorists to justice,” he said.

Genocide allegations

  Babacan underlined that the Armenian genocide claims were political.

  “We want the U.S. Congress not to be a party to historical events and to let common sense reign,” he said.

  Babacan further added it was not possible for third parties to judge the history between Turks and Armenians. “Armenian claims have not been proven so far either legally or historically. Therefore, the accusations targeting Turkey have always appeared only in the political arena,” he said.   He suggested that the issue be resolved through sincere and clear dialogue.