Main opposition CHP head calls for ‘peaceful Middle East policies’

ANKARA

Turkey should pursue “more careful and peaceful policies” to promote reconciliation in the Middle East, main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu said on Nov. 5.

“Conflicts in the Middle East seem to have the potential to expand. With foreign players such as the United States and Russia involved in the process, a battle of sovereignty has begun,” Kılıçdaroğlu told daily Hürriyet in an interview.

“Every trigger pulled in the region poses a threat to Turkey. Turkey should work to prevent every conflict that could arise in the region,” he added, in light of recent developments in Saudi Arabia, Lebanon and Iraq.

“In fact, Turkey achieved this during the Iran-Iraq War in the 1980s. It was objective but active in its policies and acted on behalf of both sides. Although Turkey’s image in the Middle East has been damaged lately, it can be repaired by following more rational policies, considering recent tensions,” Kılıçdaroğlu said.

The CHP leader on Nov. 2, sent a letter to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas marking the centennial of the Balfour Declaration, which paved the way for Israel’s establishment in 1948, Palestinian News Agency Wafa reported.

“We welcome all efforts based on the two-state solution to create an independent and sovereign Palestinian state with the 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital,” the agency quoted Kılıçdaroğlu as saying in the letter.