A PES delegation visited Ankara in support of the Republican People's Party

A delegation of the Party of European Socialists visited Ankara the day before the extraordinary congress of the Republican People’s Party, which is an associate member of the PES. The aim of the visit, in which representatives of a number of European parties took part, was to express the support of the European left for the RPP and its leader Ozgur Ozel.

At a meeting with the party leadership, the international guests were briefed on the latest developments related to the arrested Mayor of Istanbul and nominated candidate for President of Turkey Ekrem Imamoglu. The RPP leader Ozel stressed that democracy in Turkey can be saved only by democratic means. The main opposition party leads in the opinion polls for both president and parliament, Ozel stressed to the PES representatives, adding that he would never forget the support of the partner parties at this difficult time.

The BSP’s position

On behalf of the BSP, the delegation of the PES included the MEP and member of the Executive Bureau of the National Council Kristian Vigenin, who expressed the wish of the Bulgarian Socialists for stronger cooperation between the two parties both within the PES and the Socialist International and on a bilateral basis. In this connection Vigenin conveyed an invitation from the Chair of the BSP Atanas Zafirov for an RPP delegation to visit Sofia in the near future.