Ankara: PM, main opposition leader discuss FETO, Syria

ANKARA

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim met the leader of opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), Kemal Kilicdaroglu, at the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party's headquarters in Ankara on Thursday, according to a Prime Ministry source.

The meeting between the two leaders focused on Turkey's fight against terrorists, including with the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO) and the Operation Euphrates Shield in northern Syria, the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on speaking to the media, said.

Turkey's government has said the defeated coup, which left over 240 people martyred and nearly 2,200 injured, was organized by followers of Fetullah Gulen, who has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania since 1999, and his FETO network.

Operation Euphrates Shield began last month and saw the Free Syrian Army fighters, backed by the Turkish military, take control of Jarabulus from Daesh.

Turkey has said the operation aims to bolster border security, supporting coalition forces and eliminating the threat posed by terror organizations, especially Daesh. The operation is in line with the country’s right to self-defense borne out of international treaties and a mandate given to Turkey’s armed forces by its parliament in 2014, which was extended for another year in September 2015.

Yildirim, who is also AK Party chairman, and Kilicdaroglu agreed on reconciliation in efforts to draft Turkey's new constitution, the source added.

*Reporting By Sinan Uslu; Writing By Fatma Bulbul