Erdogan says to meet with pro-Kurdish party soon

The HAGUE- Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Rudaw on Wednesday that he will soon meet with a delegation from the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), adding that the Turkish government has no issue with the Kurds and that they have a “strong potential” in the Turkish parliament.

“As their president, we have no problems whatsoever with our Kurdish citizens living in the region. Things are going very well right now. They have strong potential in parliament. Since they don't have such problems, they requested a meeting for this march, this process,” Erdogan told Rudaw during a press conference he held on the sidelines of the NATO summit in the Hague. 

Erdogan received a DEM Party delegation, consisting of lawmakers Sirri Surreya Onder and Pervin Buldan, on April 10, marking the first meeting between Erdogan and a pro-Kurdish party in a decade. Onder passed away in May. 

The meeting was part of the ongoing efforts in the country to put an end to four decades of war between Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Some call it a peace process while Ankara has labeled it “free-terror Turkey.”

Erdogan added that the DEM Party has requested a second meeting with him. 

“I believe they now have another meeting request. And we will fulfill this meeting request in the near future. We will hold our discussions with them,” he noted. 

The Turkish president emphasized that his government has no issue with ethnic minorities. 

“There is no problem whatsoever. In my country, with Turks, Kurds, Laz, Circassians, Arabs - we are all one. And it is also my duty to protect the integrity of my country. We will continue this in the best way possible,” he said.