President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hosted main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chair Özgür Özel on Thursday. The meeting held at the headquarters of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in the capital Ankara is the first official talks between the two politicians since Özel was elected to lead the CHP last November.
Prior to that, Erdoğan and Özel briefly met during an event on the occasion of a national holiday on April 23. This is the first formal meeting between Erdoğan and a CHP leader in eight years.
Widely covered by Turkish media, the meeting is viewed as a sign of softening ties between the two rival parties. It comes in the wake of the March 31 municipal elections where the CHP boasted gains in former strongholds of the AK Party.
The much-awaited meeting lasted an hour and 35 minutes and the two leaders did not make a statement afterwards.
