Peace process to continue if PKK disarms and leaves the country: AK Party Spokesperson Atalay

Turkey's peace process with Kurdish militants could continue if "terrorist elements" put down their weapons and leave the country, Beşir Atalay, spokesman for the ruling AK Party, said on Tuesday.

"We cannot say that the peace process is defacto over. There is currently a stagnation in the mechanism but it would restart where it left off if these intentions emerge," Atalay told a press conference in Ankara.

Beşir Atalay also added that the AK Party is against party closures and individuals who commit crimes should be punished rather than organizations as a whole.

Atalay also criticized the People's Democratic Party (HDP) for not distancing itself from violence and terrorism.

With regards to the ongoing coalition talks Atalay said that coalition talks to form a new government with CHP are proceeding in a productive manner.

Nationalist Movement Party leader Devlet Bahçeli suggested last week that the HDP be investigated by Turkish courts over an apparent failure to condemn violence by the terrorist group PKK, which raised questions whether the HDP could be closed.