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.
Turkey's government denounced opposition calls for a mass commercial boycott following the arrest of Istanbul Mayor Ekrem Imamoglu that sparked nationwide protests, describing them on Wednesday as an economic "sabotage attempt".
A new generation of young Turks is at the forefront of mass protests against President Tayyip Erdogan’s government, demanding change in a country they see as increasingly authoritarian.
Israel announced overnight that it had killed Hassan Bdeir, a senior Hezbollah figure, in an airstrike targeting the southern suburbs of Beirut.
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