ANKARA
A final decision on whether Turkey’s two biggest political parties will form a governing coalition could be made today.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu are now meeting in an encounter which is expected to make or break a potential coalition partnership.
The two leaders' meeting started in Ankara at 2.00 p.m. local time (1100 GMT) for a final discussion and review of five rounds of exploratory talks which mainly focused on foreign policy, education and the economy.
Davutoglu dampened speculation however, saying an "historic statement should not be expected" after the Thursday talks.
The two leaders already met for over four hours on Monday.
On Tuesday, the main decision-making body of the CHP voiced support for Kilicdaroglu, giving him "a full mandate to form a coalition government in line with Turkey's interests".
Since the June 7 general election, after the first-placed Justice and Development (AK) Party lost its majority in parliament, four parties have been negotiating over a possible coalition government, with the focus being on a deal between the two largest groups: the AK Party and the CHP.
Earlier exploratory talks between the two parties lasted for 35 hours during five separate sessions from July 24 until August 3, after which delegations of both parties submitted reports to their leaders.
In the case that the August 23 deadline expires without a government, either President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or the parliament may decide to hold a snap election.
If Erdogan issues the decision, polling is supposed to be held in the first Sunday following a 90-day period starting from the end of the first deadline.
