Merkel Calls on Turkey to Prioritize Normalization With Kurds

Turkey should prioritize normalizing ties with the Kurdish minority following the snap parliamentary elections scheduled for November 1, German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Sunday.

ANKARA (Sputnik) – Turkey scuttled a two-year ceasefire with the Kurds in July, launching a military campaign against Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants in northern Iraq and southeast Turkey, following the murders of two police officers attributed to PKK.

Over 120 Turkish law enforcement and military officers and civilians have fallen victim to separatist violence over the past months.

"The process of the peaceful settlement of the Kurdish issue should come to the fore after these elections. Germany wants above all to see a stable Turkey," Merkel said during a state visit to Ankara.

Speaking at a press conference alongside Turkish Prime Minster Ahmet Davutoglu, Merkel said Berlin was "closely monitoring" preparations for the early vote.