Turkish PM, main opposition leader leave Parliament

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet

A file photo of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (R) and CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu (L). AA Photo

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan left Parliament today after listening to speeches from the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) without waiting for the main opposition party to speak as deputies debated a motion to permit cross-border raids into Syria.

Main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu subsequently left the room and did not listen to former Ambassador Volkan Bozkır, who spoke on behalf of the AKP after the prime minister departed.

Kılıçdaoğlu said he deliberately left the room, according to reports.

All CHP deputies left the room while Bozkır was speaking and came back after his speech was over.

Deputies were debating the motion, which has now been passed, in response to Syrian shells that hit the Turkish border town of Akçakale yesterday, killing five residents.