The Republican People's Party (CHP) is divided over Turkey's shooting down of a Russian Su-24 aircraft that violated Turkish airspace on Nov. 24.
CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu condemned the Turkish government's use of military force and asked "Who is responsible for this picture?" in a statement after Turkey downed the Russian jet. Accusing the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government of having dragged Turkey into a quagmire, Kılıçdaroğlu claimed, "A solution without Assad has become impossible."
However, all of the CHP deputies are not falling into line with Kılıçdaroğlu. Speaking in Parliament Monday evening, CHP İstanbul deputy İlhan Kesici said: "The rules of engagement have been declared to the entire world within the framework of the law; thus, it is evident that the requirements [under the rules of engagement] were being followed and warnings were made numerous times previously. The final action was the downing of the [Russian] aircraft, which was the right action to take. I express these opinions on behalf of several of my CHP colleagues. Out government and all other officials must work hard to combat the negative perceptions of Turkey produced by Western media."
Furthermore, sources close to CHP headquarters stated that Kılıçdaroğlu's stance toward the Russian jet incident was also criticized my members of the party assembly over the weekend. Members of the CHP's party assembly reportedly stressed the necessity of giving constructive criticism instead of continuing an attitude of chronic opposition and underlined the importance of solidarity in regards to national security matters.
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, on the other hand, gave Erdoğan his unequivocal support and said his party will support the ruling AK Party in any crisis with Russia over the downed jet. Bahçeli lambasted Russian President Vladimir Putin's remarks calling Turkey's decision to protect its airspace and shoot down the intruding jet as "a stab in the back" administered by "the accomplices of terrorists."
