Off the wire
• Chinese Super League soccer results  • China one of forces driving growth in global economy: economist  • IOC Evaluation Commission to visit Beijing and Zhangjiakou  • Urgent: UN chief hails trilateral foreign ministers' meeting of China, Japan, Korea  • Beijing mayor urges tackling smog  • India to promote coastal tourism  • Fitch downgrades Finland's outlook to "negative," affirms its AAA rating  • Roundup: Timeline of China's anti-Ebola aid in Africa  • Singapore, Malaysia cooperate on high-speed rail project  • Kokang group needs to be inclusive in Myanmar's ceasefire accord signing: peace negotiator  
You are here: 　 Home

Turkish deputy PM slams Erdogan's intervention into Kurdish peace process

Xinhua, March 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc on Saturday criticized President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's intervention into settlement process that aims to end more than three-decade-old Kurdish insurgency.

"The president's statements on the issue and his criticisms on the Turkish government could fray the government. Therefore, it's better for him to convey these views directly to the prime minister," Arinc told reporters.

Arinc said the peace talks process is at government's hands and Erdogan's remarks could only be his personal thoughts.

Arinc's remarks came after President Erdogan's recent criticism on the issue of setting up a monitoring group to contribute to the settlement talks with Kurds.

Erdogan said on Friday that he did not approve a monitoring group although the government and the pro-Kurdish People's Democracy Party reached a deal on it.

In the recent disagreements between the Turkish government and Erdogan, the president objected Intelligence Agency Chief Hakan Fidan to run for the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Fidan, who resigned to run in the upcoming June parliamentary elections, had to reassume his post in intelligence service in one month upon the president's will. Endit