Baykal ciritizes PM's proposed caucasus cooperation and stability platform

Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal yesterday chaired a party assembly meeting focusing on the restructuring of the CHP's organization, and preparations for an upcoming CHP general assembly on its statutes and program. During the meeting, Baykal stressed the importance of a new vision for the party program. He also criticized Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's proposal for a Caucasus platform to restore peace and stability to the region, saying that it would be out of place. "On issues concerning the region, Turkey should have three basic principles: respect for the territorial integrity of regional countries, avoiding a military response to problems in the region, and everybody abiding by the provisions of the Montreux Convention," he added. Baykal also dismissed as "nonsense" claims that he had called for a military coup. Speaking to Sabah daily, Baykal said, "I only warned that if there are important concerns about the preservation of the basic principles of the republic, especially secularism, then officials and everybody else should do their part to dispel those concerns and protect the republic's basic principles."