President Erdogan meets with main opposition party leader after 8 years

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and main opposition party CHP’s leader Ozgur Ozel hold a closed-door meeting at the AK Party headquarters, marking a first for Turkish politics in eight years

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the leader main opposition party CHP, Ozgur Ozel, convened at the AK Party headquarters on Wednesday. The meeting commenced at 4:05 PM local time and lasted for 1 hour and 35 minutes. Following the discussion, Ozel departed from the AK Party headquarters.

In a first for Turkish politics in 8 years, the meeting between Erdogan and Ozel commenced. The meeting between President Erdogan and Ozgur Ozel was held behind closed doors at the AK Party headquarters.

No statement was issued following the meeting, and Ozel left the AK Party headquarters afterward.

Ozel was welcomed to the party by Deputy Chairman Mustafa Elitaş upon his arrival.

Also present at the meeting were CHP Istanbul Deputy and members of the Turkish Parliament Foreign Affairs Committee Namık Tan, and Elitas.

 The meeting, which brought together the two parties’ leaders after an 8-year hiatus, reportedly had Erdogan’s main agenda focused on a new constitution. Among the backstage information is Ozgur Ozel bringing up the issue of the debts inherited from the AK Party-controlled municipalities.

It was expected that CHP leader Ozgur Ozel would raise issues such as the financial difficulties of retirees, the situation of unemployed teachers, expectations for compliance with Constitutional Court decisions, the detention of the generals from the February 28 era, and the refugee problem.

Prior to the critical meeting, Ozel spoke on the phone with former CHP leaders Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, Altan Öymen, Hikmet Çetin, and Murat Karayalçın, gathering their views and recommendations for the upcoming meeting with Erdogan.

Source: Newsroom