Turkey's Erdogan at odds with gov't over stance towards Kurds

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that he had not approved a joint press conference between a Kurdish delegation and Turkish ministers where a 10-article statement of jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan was read, Turkish daily Milliyet reported on Sunday.

"This statement is not related to democracy," Erdogan was quoted by the paper as saying, adding that "it did not include any democratic demands."

He also said that Kurdish delegation and the government could have made their statements separately as it was before.

He criticized the government over appearing side by side with the Kurdish delegation in the media.

He reiterated his stance that he was against setting up a monitoring group to contribute to the settlement talks with Kurds, saying that it was a dangerous step which aimed to "rise the legitimacy of the island," in reference to the Imrali Island where Abdullah Ocalan, the leader of the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), serves his jail sentence.

Erdogan also said that the government is not consulting with him on every issues.

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

"The president's statements on the issue and his criticisms of 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 the government's hands and Erdogan's remarks could only be his personal thoughts.

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

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