Chief of General Staff Ilker Basbug met yesterday with Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli to share assessments and ideas on Turkey’s combat of terrorism.

- 11 / 10 / 2008 08:23

Chief of General Staff Ilker Basbug met yesterday with Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli to share assessments and ideas on Turkey’s combat of terrorism, following a visit Thursday with Republican People’s Party (CHP) Chairman Deniz Baykal.

Bahceli and Basbug’s meeting was held behind closed doors and lasted for one-and-a-half hours.

In a short briefing to the press after the meeting, Basbug said he was reciprocating a courtesy call from Bahceli when he was appointed chief of general staff.

“We had a very detailed and useful exchange of opinions. First we talked about Turkey’s counterterrorism efforts, just as I did earlier with Mr. Baykal. After this, I gave him my opinion on what Turkey should do in its fight against terrorism. I think the meeting was very useful. Mr. Bahceli said I was the first-ever chief of general staff to visit MHP headquarters. I was very happy to hear that,” he said.

Basbuğg declined to answer reporters’ questions on what he thought of setting up a buffer zone along the Iraqi border to prevent terrorist attacks from northern Iraq, a proposal made publicly by MHP leader Bahceli earlier this week as a strategy to prevent attacks by Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorists based in northern Iraq.