Erdoğan Says Anti-Terror Campaign 'Reaches New Crossroads'

"We are taking firm steps toward a terror-free Turkey,” Erdoğan told MPs from his ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) during a parliamentary meeting.

As part of the campaign, PKK has decided to disband and withdraw all its forces from Turkey to northern Iraq.

"Acting in full solidarity as the [ruling] People's Alliance, we will first achieve a terror-free Turkey, then our goal of a terror-free region," he said.

"It appears we have reached a new crossroads on... this path. Everyone must put their shoulder to the wheel on this issue, support the process and focus on contributing as much as possible."

His remarks followed a meeting on Oct. 30 with Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) MPs Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar. The pro-Kurdish party is engaging in dialogue with jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan as part of the peace bid.

Erdoğan described the meeting as “constructive” and said the parties shared concerns about proceeding with caution. 

"A terror-free Turkey is a powerful Turkey that has broken the rusty chains on its feet. A terror-free Turkey is a happy Turkey living in peace and tranquility," Erdoğan said.

"A terror-free Turkey is the sign of a successful, victorious and respected Turkey that will be a scene of tremendous brotherhood and embrace."

Erdoğan credited progress in the initiative to his "determined and resolute stance, the courageous and visionary contributions of ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli and the AKP's intensive efforts to embrace all segments of society."

He said a comprehensive report, expected soon from a parliamentary commission overseeing the process, will outline a legal roadmap.

"We are continuing our work without paying attention to provocations and without giving in to secret or open attempts to sabotage the process," Erdoğan said.

He also argued that recent parliamentary resolutions extending Turkey's military mandates in Syria and Iraq support, rather than complicate, efforts for a “terror-free Turkey.”

The main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) said the extensions undermine the initiative, as the DEM Party described the decree as illegitimate and counterproductive. "We all see that neither war resolutions nor security policies have solved the problems in Turkey or the region," MP Gülistan Kılıç Koçyiğit said at a press conference on Oct. 20.