Türk: "Happy and Hopeful", Erdoğan: "Hopes Have Increased"

After a delegation of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) met with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan today, the party's co-chair Ahmet Türk said, "It was an important day. We are happy and hopeful because a climate of dialogue has been provided."

Türk did not answer specific questions of journalists, but said that his party had used the meeting to "put forward our opinions on what needs to be done in order to embrace the peoples". He added that it would be wrong to come out with a specific project at this point, but that the process needed to start with finding out the opinions of all sections of society.

"We will continue efforts"

"We hope that we will see important developments", said Türk. "We all have important duties and responsibilities. With that in mind we will continue our efforts. We hope that we will see happy, good days ahead of us."

"An end to blood and death"

Around half an hour after Türk, Prime Minister Erdoğan made a statement to the press. He said, "We have had a very, very important meeting. We are in the middle of a process. I believe that today's meeting has increased our hopes for the future. Our nation wants unity, togetherness and solidarity. It wants the tears of mothers to stop flowing; it wants an end to blood and death. This is what we all want, this is what we expect."

"Both sides have benefited"

The Prime Mİnister added, "We have started a project coordinated by the Ministry of the Interior. We want theory and practice to come together. This project is continuing with representatives from our political parties, NGOs, academics, and the media, who all have a lot to say on the issue. Personally I believe that this one-hour meeting has benefited both sides, and that there will be positive steps based on security and aimed at the future. It is perhaps not possible to solve everything in the short term, but I believe that we will manage it in the short, mid and long term."

Erdoğan also declined to answer any specific questions.

One-hour meeting

Today's meeting at noon lasted for around an hour and took place at the office of Erdoğan in his capacity as chair of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in parliament. The AKP had emphasised yesterday (4 August) that Erdoğan was not meeting the DTP delegation as a Prime Minister but rather as a party leader.

When speaking to the journalists, Erdoğan said that he did not see the DTP and the PKK as being the same thing and did not want to believe that.

The press was excluded from the meeting, which was attended by DTP co-chairs Emine Ayna and Ahmet Türk, the party's parliamentary group deputy chair Selahattin Demirtaş, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Minister of the Interior Beşir Atalay, as well as the AKP's parliamentary group deputy chair Bekir Bozdağ and the Prime Ministerial chief consultant Yalçın Akdoğan. (TK/AG)