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Turkey's prime minister says coalition talks failed

Iran Press TV

Aug 13, 2015 12:53PM

Turkey’s prime minister says crucial coalition talks with the leader of the main opposition party have failed as “deep disagreements” remain between the two sides, amid tensions in the country’s southern border.

Premier Ahmet Davutoglu, who leads the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), and Kemal Kilicdaroglu of the Republican People's Party (CHP) met in the capital, Ankara, on Thursday.

The Turkish prime minister said after the talks, "We have not been successful in assuring a favorable base for the creation of a government."

Davutoglu also stated that there was "a strong possibility" for snap elections in the country. "Actually the snap elections have become the only option for Turkey."

The AKP failed to maintain its majority in the parliamentary elections of June 7 and had been forced to seek an alliance with its rival, the CHP. However, many in the AKP, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, reportedly favored elections as it could restore the party’s majority and enable it to realize its ambitions of a presidential system.

Many saw the Thursday meeting as a last chance to avoid snap polls and end political uncertainty in Turkey.

The two parties, which are known for their old and deep rivalries, are too far from one another on major issues like the role of the president, foreign policy and education.

The Turkish premier said AKP negotiators had offered a "medium-term reform government" to the CHP. However, Davutoglu said, the negotiating partners failed to find a “common ground.”

Davutoglu, who serves as the head of the largest party in Turkey, still faces a deadline of August 23 to agree to a coalition government, according to the Turkish constitution.

A coalition government would have been of high value for those in the business sector as it could have lifted the value of the national currency lira in the face of the dollar.

President Erdogan said Wednesday that failing to reach a consensus in the Thursday talks would not bother him, saying, Davutoglu “would not commit suicide” if no coalition is formed.

Tension on the border

Over the past weeks, Turkey has been engaged in one of its biggest security operations in the southern border region. The Turkish military has been conducting offensives against positions of Daesh terrorists in northern Syria as well as those of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants in northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey.

Ankara started the security operations in the wake of the deadly July 20 bomb attack in the southern Turkish town of Suruc, located close to the Kurdish town of Kobani on the other side of the border in Syria, where over 30 people died. The Turkish government blamed Daesh for the bombing. On July 22, the PKK claimed responsibility for the killing of two Turkish police officers, saying they were cooperating with Daesh.

The PKK has been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region in southeastern Turkey since the 1980s. The conflict has left tens of thousands of people dead.