MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu cancelled a planned meeting with leaders of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), saying that recent statements by party officials have left no room for dialogue, Davutoglu’s office said in a statement.
Davutoglu was scheduled to have a meeting with HDP leadership next Wednesday as part of talks with all opposition parties represented in the country’s parliament to discuss a new constitution and other issues.
"HDP leaders have shown once again that they lack the political maturity required to use politics as a means to solve problems. There is no point in sitting around the same table with [those who subscribe to] such an ill-mannered approach," the statement said, without specifying the HDP statements in question, Turkish newspaper Today’s Zaman reported.
Russian-Turkish ties deteriorated following the downing of the Russian aircraft by a Turkish F-16 fighter in Syria on November 24. Ankara said it had fired an air-to-air missile in response to a violation of Turkish airspace. The Russian General Staff and the Syrian Air Defense Command have both said that the Su-24 never crossed into Turkish airspace.
