Erdogan: nothing can prevent parliament from functioning![]() June 30, 2011 - 16:21 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Thursday, June 30, challenged Turkey's main opposition party and the pro-Kurdish bloc, which have so far refused to take their parliamentary oaths in protest of the imprisonment of some of their deputies, saying it's their choice to boycott Parliament and that this poses no obstacle to parliament's functioning, Today’s Zaman reported. “There is no situation that would prevent the functioning of parliament, no matter whether the opposition comes or not. ... Parliament will begin working and the first step is the elections to be held for the parliament presidency on Tuesday,” the PM said as he addressed his party's first parliamentary group meeting at Justice and Development Party (AK Party) headquarters in Ankara. Turkish lawmakers on Tuesday took their oaths in a parliamentary session, but the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and independent deputies supported by the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) boycotted the ceremony. Azerbaijani authorities report that they have already resettled 3,000 people in the Nagorno-Karabakh town of Stepanakert. On June 10, Azerbaijani President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev will leave for Turkey on a working visit. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. Partner news |