World Bulletin / News Desk

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said he had told Selahattin Demirtas, leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party, not to block a on Iraq and Syria seeks to expand authorization for the Turkish government and the armed forces to act against recent security threats from Turkey's two southern neighbors.

Demirtas however said his party would oppose the motion during the voting, citing concerns over accepting international armed forces into Turkey and over the launching of a military land operation.

He noted that his party would rather see direct support to opposition groups fighting against the Syrian regime forces.

Scheduled to be discussed at the parliament Thursday, it also includes a mandate for the government to send Turkish troops into foreign countries, for instance Iraq or Syria, if necessary, and accept troops from foreign countries on Turkish soil. The motion is to last for a period of one year.

Turkish armed forces are currently authorized to operate across the border to defend Turkey against Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters and the forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

LACK OF COOPERATION

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has blamed a lack of cooperation between opposition groups in Syria for failing to stem the advance of extremist fighters.

Davutoglu said the people of Kobani, a Syrian Kurdish city besieged by the ISIL for more than two weeks, were paying the price for the failure of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party to join forces with the Free Syrian Army.

Speaking at Wednesday night's reception to mark the start of the new legislative year in Ankara, the Turkish capital, Davutoglu said the government contacted the Kurdish PYD and the FSA last year and told them to act together to "avert the terror threat and regime attacks in the northern belt."

He added: "If the PYD, instead of cooperating with the regime, had joined forces with the FSA and with the opposition, ISIL would not have found that much opportunity in the field."

The attack on Kobani - just across the Turkish border - and surrounding villages has led to 160,000 refugees seeking sanctuary in Turkey.

SOLUTION PROCESS

The leader of Turkey's main pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party, Selahattin Demirtas, pledged Wednesday his support for the country's Kurdish solution process.

Demirtas, affirmed his backing of Turkey's solution process, aimed at ending a more than 30 year-old conflict between Turkish armed forces and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, which is listed as a terrorist group by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union.

"We will keep on putting our support behind the solution process both at the parliament and other platforms, to carry it through to success," Demirtas told the press following a meeting with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Ankara.

Demirtas welcomed the formation of the solution process council, noting that "immediate practical steps in conformity with this perspective [were] essential to realize permanent peace in the region at the earliest."

Following Tuesday's Council of Ministers' meeting chaired by Davutoglu, Deputy PM Bulent Arinc announced a new 'solution process council' to be established in order to see the proceedings through as soon as possible and root out "terror" in the eastern Turkish region -- one of the priorities of Davutoglu-led new AK Party government.