President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli in Ankara on April 30 to discuss the government’s anti-terrorism initiative and regional developments, according to media reports.
The meeting at the Presidential Complex in Beştepe lasted about an hour, with the ruling bloc leaders focusing on progress in the so-called "terror-free Türkiye" campaign, as well as potential next steps, including legal arrangements.
Discussions also covered developments in the Middle East, including the regional and global implications of tensions involving Israel, the United States and Iran. The leaders reviewed the status of ceasefire efforts and addressed ongoing Israeli attacks in Gaza and Lebanon, as well as a recent incident involving a Gaza-bound aid flotilla.
Erdoğan and Bahçeli last met on Jan. 21 in Beştepe, where they similarly reviewed the anti-terror bid and broader regional developments, including the situation in Syria. The two also spoke briefly during a parliamentary reception on April 23.
The anti-terror project gained momentum after PKK announced last May that it had ended its armed activities and dissolved its organizational structure. Two months later, a symbolic ceremony was held in Iraq during which weapons were publicly burned.
Parliament subsequently established the National Solidarity, Brotherhood and Democracy Commission to oversee the initiative. Led by Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş, the 51-member body included representatives from all parliamentary parties except the İYİ (Good) Party.
The Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) has been acting as an intermediary in the process, conducting visits to jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan at the İmralı prison island off Istanbul.
