Turkey must take steps for its national security: CHP leader

ANKARA

Turkey should take steps to maintain its national security, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, said elaborating on a possible Turkish incursion in the east of Euphrates.

“Turkey has to take steps in order to provide its security in its region,” Kılıçdaroğlu told reporters in reply to a question regarding a possible military action east of the Euphrates.

“It could be a peace corridor of a special zone,” he said, noting that Turkey should hold a workshop on the issue of the Syrian crisis with participation of all relevant parties.

“We have to asses all the dimensions of incidents in Syria,” he stated. Kılıçdaroğlu recalled that he proposed in 2013 to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to hold such a gathering.

The Turkish government is considering a potential military operation into northeastern Syria, though it is having talks with a senior American delegation over setting up a safe zone along the Turkish-Syrian border.

Turkey and the United States differ about the size of the safe zone and by whom it will be controlled.

Turkey says it should control the area while the United States seeks a limited and temporary presence of the Turkish troops within the enclave.

Over the disagreements of modalities of a safe zone, Turkey expresses its determination to launch a unilateral military operation in the region where the YPG group, considered by the Turkish government to be the Syrian branch of the illegal PKK group, is keeping control over the support of the United States.

CHP is against nepotism

The CHP leader also elaborated on the cases of nepotism in local administrations of the main opposition party and said he rejects such practices. The ruling Justice and Development (AKP) mayors also should be respecting this understanding, he said.