Talks on forming coalition government start in Turkey

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has started talks with the leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), Kemal Kilicdaroglu, on forming a coalition government, TRT Haber news channel reports. Following this, the prime minister is expected to hold meetings with the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), Devlet Bahceli, and the head of the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), Selahattin Demirtas.

Although in general the views of the AKP and CHP contradict each other, they have a similar attitude to the process of a democratic settlement of the Kurdish problem that started in 2009 at the initiative of the country’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Moreover, both parties support Turkey’s accession to the European Union.

The main disagreement between these two parties is related to the country’s foreign policy, particularly Ankara’s policy on Syria. The Republican People's Party opposes the ruling party’s policy on Syria, urges the authorities to expel Syrian refugees from the country and close the borders with Syria, Trend reports.