President Tayyip Erdogan held talks with the leader of Turkey's main opposition CHP party on Thursday, the first such meeting in nearly eight years, just one month after the CHP outperformed Erdogan's party in local elections.
Ozgur Ozel
President Tayyip Erdogan held talks with the leader of Turkey's main opposition CHP party on Thursday, the first such meeting in nearly eight years, just one month after the CHP outperformed Erdogan's party in local elections.
The March 31 vote marked Erdogan and his AK Party's (AKP) worst defeat in more than 20 years in power.
It revitalized the opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) under new chief Ozgur Ozel, and strengthened Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu's standing as a strong future presidential contender.
Erdogan subsequently vowed to correct any mistakes that had led to his party's defeat, which analysts attributed mainly to voter frustration with economic woes, especially soaring inflation.
Ozel entered the AKP headquarters in Ankara just after 4 p.m. local time. The talks were expected to focus on efforts to agree on a new constitution, economic developments and the situation in Gaza, according to state broadcaster TRT Haber.
Israel stepped up airstrikes on Syria overnight, declaring the attacks a warning to the new Islamist rulers in Damascus as it accused their Turkish allies on Thursday of trying to turn the country into a Turkish protectorate.
Following Saudi Arabia, Turkey has strongly condemned the visit of Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem on Wednesday.
Saudi Arabia has strongly condemned the visit of Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir to the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound in East Jerusalem on Wednesday, calling it a provocation and denouncing what it referred to as “Israeli aggression” against the holy site.
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