MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A rift between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the Cabinet deepened Sunday after the country's Deputy Prime Minister vowed to defend the government's moves on Kurdish peace process, Today's Zaman newspaper said.
This came after President Erdogan said on Friday he was not happy about the government's decision to set up a special committee to monitor secret talks with jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan. He argued that the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) was more than enough.
Arinc assured Erdogan that the government and the people loved him, according to Today's Zaman, but said the government hoped to emerge even stronger from the upcoming parliamentary elections on June 7.
Peace talks between the Turkish government and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a political group listed as a terrorist organization by Ankara, still have a bumpy road ahead. Despite continued Kurdish independence struggle, the president has been in denial saying it was not an issue.
On Saturday, PKK leader Ocalan called for an end of 30-year-long conflict between Turkish Kurdistan and Turkey. Ocalan also supported the idea of a monitoring committee.
