Turkish PM hints at possible changes in Cabinet

By Meltem Bulur

ANKARA

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim hinted on Monday that changes to the Cabinet could occur in the coming months.

"From time to time it is necessary for democracies to refresh the blood in the Cabinet, in this sense, of course, when circumstances arise, changes can be made," Yildirim said in an interview with Bloomberg News in Ankara's Cankaya Palace.

"We will do this through a consultation process with our president [Recep Tayyip Erdogan]. I think we will consider this issue in the coming months," he added.

Yildirim refused to speculate on who would enter or leave the Cabinet.

The premier also spoke about the return of Erdogan to the ruling Justice & Development (AK) Party, which has been made possible following the constitutional changes adopted in the recent referendum in Turkey.

Yildirim said that he would be pleased to invite Erdogan, the founder and former chairman of the AK Party, to rejoin the party, adding that there would be no obstacles for Erdogan to become the chairman of the party again.

He also said that despite the difficulties the country faced due to external and internal circumstances, its economy was growing.

"Turkey's economy is an economy that gives confidence to both the world and its own citizens, an economy which has a growth target for the future, an economy that has the potential to fulfill the expectations of our future citizens," he said.

Reporting by Meltem Bulur; Writing by Meryem Goktas