Turkish PM Leaves Door Open to Talks with Kurdish Rebels
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan suggested a resumption of talks with Kurdish rebels was possible despite a recent surge in attacks, the Turkish press reported Monday.
"If we deem it necessary, we will make a decision and tell our colleagues to do what is needed," Erdogan said, referring to talks with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
His remark, made to reporters on a plane flying him back from a visit to Macedonia, was widely interpreted in the Turkish media as a suggestion that talks with the PKK may resume.
Erdogan confirmed that secret talks did take place last year with the separatist PKK, which has been fighting against the Turkish government since 1984.
"I sent (intelligence chief) Hakan Fidan. He was my special envoy and he wasn't alone," Erdogan said.
Recordings of the talks, that took place in Oslo last year, were leaked in the media, sparking the ire of the opposition and sending shockwaves through a public opinion accustomed to Ankara's long-standing blanket refusal to talk to the PKK.
More than 120 people have been killed since mid-June in clashes between government forces and the main Kurdish rebel group, mainly in the country's southeastern region.
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