Russian foreign minister meets Selahattin Demirtaş, co-chairman of Turkey's pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), in the wake of Russian plane crisis, amid Turkish anti-terror operations in southeast
Turkish opposition pro-Kurdish party leader Selahattin Demirtaş, who has been criticized for his controversial remarks supporting outlawed PKK terrorist organization after the latest parliamentary election, was warmly welcomed by Putin despite the ongoing crisis between Ankara and Moscow.
Demirtaş, co-leader of the People's Democratic Party (HDP), met Russia's Foreign Minister on Wednesday. He is believed to seek support for PKK terrorists, who are facing a huge crackdown by Turkish Armed Forces in recent operations.
Moscow, which vowed to take revenge for the downing of its SU-24 bomber by Turkish military, not in the same way but though some “other way," welcomed Demirtaş with a short live broadcast of his meeting with the Russian FM.
Selahattin Demirtaş had been portrayed as a young leader for defending democracy and the Kurdish peace process but after the November 1 election, he made a U-turn from his pre-election statements and began publicly supporting terrorist activities in southeastern Turkey. He also criticized Turkish anti-terror operations in some southeastern districts and called for protests against security officials in the area.
Demirtaş declared his support to the Kremlin authority, saying that the Turkish decision to shoot down the Russian jet was wrong though the EU, NATO, the US and other countries' technical and military experts as well as politicians deemed Turkey to be right in its action to protect airspace security.
“We criticized the government's actions when the Russian plane was taken down," Demirtaş said at the joint meeting.
Relations between Moscow and Ankara soured after the Turkish military shot down a Russian bomber after it violated Turkish airspace near the Syrian border on November 24.
Though their meeting was closed, Russian media reported that Demirtaş urged Russian officials to find an open door to resolve the crisis in a political and diplomatic way.
“A solution that won't harm our two nations should be found," Russia Today (RT) quoted him saying.
In his part, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that Moscow's “stance on the step that was taken by the Turkish government in no way applies to the Turkish people," according to RT.
“We will always have warm and friendly feelings towards the Turkish people," Lavrov said.
“They aren't responsible for what happened with the SU-24; it's a decision that was made by the country's leadership," he added.
