MOSCOW (Reuters)–Russia’said on Wednesday the West’s failure to condemn Turkish killings of Kurds in northern Iraq highlighted its double standards in international policy.
"It is important for the international community to respond to this intolerable situation… Ankara is taking action which rudely flouts…Iraq’s international rights–sovereignty and territorial integrity," Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "However (any response) is being hindered by a selective approach and by double standards–which are influencing the policies of some powerful members of the UN Security Council."
The statement appeared to be referring to the United States and its NATO allies Britain and France–all three of which are permanent members of the Security Council with Russia and China.
Russia has fiercely opposed NATO’s bombing campaign against its Slavic–Orthodox Christian brethren in Yugoslavia but has led diplomatic efforts to end the crisis.
Turkish security forces killed 37 Kurds loyal to jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan last week for the loss of nine soldiers in clashes inside Turkey and in northern Iraq.
Turkish soldiers regularly mount operations against members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK)–who use the remote mountainous terrain in northern Iraq to launch attacks on mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey in their campaign for self rule.