Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a meeting with Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli at the Presidential Complex in Ankara to deliberate on significant national and regional matters. Central to their discussions was the “terror-free Türkiye” initiative, an effort aimed at eliminating decades of terrorism in the country, alongside ongoing attempts to draft a new constitution.
The “terror-free Türkiye” initiative was marked by a pivotal moment in 2024 when Bahçeli called for the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Abdullah Öcalan, to advocate for the disarmament of the group. Following this call, Öcalan urged the PKK to disarm in February 2025, initiating a disarmament process. The Turkish government is currently contemplating legal measures to facilitate this process, including potential leniency for PKK members not implicated in terrorist acts.
In addition to domestic issues, the meeting addressed regional developments such as the Türkiye-Libya maritime boundary agreement, which recently received approval from Libya’s House of Representatives. Other topics potentially on the agenda included the Mecca motion anticipated to be presented to the Turkish Parliament and the Badr Memorandum.
This meeting marked the fourth encounter between Erdoğan and Bahçeli in the current year, following earlier discussions on January 21, April 30, and August 26. These meetings underscore the ongoing collaboration between the Turkish government and the MHP in addressing critical national and international issues.