President Erdoğan: Implementation of disarmament call inevitable for peace


President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said that the call for disarmament is a significant step to finalize the reconciliation process but what really matters is the execution of the call. Erdoğan has made a press statement before he took off for Saudi Arabia on Saturday and commented on the call for disarmament. He emphasized the importance of implementation and highlighted that the PKK should be the one to lay down their arms, not the Turkish Police or the Army. "Such expectation would only be a dream" he said.The President harshly criticized the People's Democratic Party (HDP) for making contradictory statements. "The statements made by HDP's members in the reconciliation committee contradict those made by the party's co-chairman Selahattin Demirtaş" Erdoğan said, adding that they lack established principles. Erdoğan added that the sincerity of both sides will be tested while noting that the government has taken remarkable steps to meet demands of Kurdish people. "We abolished discriminatory policies" the president said, while stating that the government is making serious investments in the region, a token to display its sincerity in resolving the issue.The PKK's imprisoned leader Abdullah Öcalan has called on PKK to lay down their arms. Öcalan's message was shared with the public by the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) during a press conference on Saturday.HDP's co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş has made a press statement shortly after the meeting and claimed that "the government does not promise hope for peace."