Demirtas: Turkey's downing of Russian warplane wrong

MOSCOW, DIYARBAKIR, ANKARA (K24, Agencies) – The co-chair of Turkey's pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), Selahattin Demirtas, told the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov, during a meeting Sunday in Moscow, that Turkey's downing of a Russian warplane last month was wrong.

The downing of a Russian SU-24 bomber along the Turkish - Syrian border led to a souring of diplomatic and commercial ties between Turkey and Russia. Russia, whose air force is fighting on behalf of the Syrian government, avoided a military retaliation yet insists in demanding an apology from the Turks.

Demirtas said his party stated that the Turkish government's approach in the aftermath of the shooting down of the Russian jet was "not right." He said diplomatic channels should be kept open to find a solution for the crisis. The Kurdish leader further told Russia's Lavrov that as a party in Turkey, HDP refuses an aggressive Turkish foreign policy "that exploits tensions [in the Middle East]."

Demirtas, who on Tuesday told reporters that he was flying to Russia to open an HDP representative office in Moscow, was accompanied by Kamuran Yuksek whose HDP-aligned Democratic Regions Party (DBP) holds more than 100 Kurdish cities and towns' mayoralties, including those of three metropolitan areas.

Lavrov of Russia commended HDP's policies in Turkey and said to Demirtas, "We will support your party's political path that represents all ethnic and religious diversity [in Turkey]."

Touching upon the Kurdish fight against the Islamic State group in Rojava (Syrian Kurdistan) and the Iraqi Kurdistan, Lavrov said that his country was willing to support the Kurdish forces in Syria and Iraq "who, alongside Iraqi and Syrian armies, are battling [IS] to protect their homes."

"We know the Kurds are fighting IS and they have the right to live on their lands", added Lavrov.

Demirtas' visit to Moscow came amid uproar from the Turkish government as well as opposition politicians.

On Wednesday, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu criticised the HDP leader's meeting with the Russian Foreign Minister and said in Ankara that, "he [Demirtas] can find the courage to blame Turkey in the capital of a country [Russia] that is threatening our country."

The deputy chairperson of the main Turkish opposition Republican People's Party, Mehmet Bekaroglu opposed, on Monday, Demirtas' then-announced visit to Russia and said, "I cannot imagine any Turkish political party taking sides with Russia."

Stratfor, a private U.S. global intelligence think tank, said in analysis published on Wednesday that by receiving Demirtas "Moscow has found a pressure point in the form of the Kurds," reported Reuters.

Meanwhile Turkish Chief Public Prosecutor in Diyarbakir launched an investigation Tuesday into the defiant remarks last week by HDP's Selahattin Demirtas on the ongoing curfews and clashes in numerous Kurdish towns. Demirtas said the Turkish military deployment in Kurdish areas amounted to an occupation.

(Xoshewi Muhammad reported from Moscow, Adnan Gerger and Hesen Kako contributed to this report from Ankara and Diyarbakir respectively.)