Erdogan pledges to pay Turkey's dept to IMF by may

Speaking at his Justice and Development Party (AKP) group meeting at the Parliament on Tuesday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan targeted the opposition for previous criticism against his government regarding the recent Imrali meetings with the imprisoned leader of the outlawed PKK Abdullah Ocalan. "We do not negotiate with terrorism. For state officials to meet with the terrorist head is not negotiation, it's not sitting down with him. It's taking an opportunity that is present in the solution process. Why would anyone be bothered by this?" Erdogan noted. Erdogan challenged opposition members to voice their criticisms directly, especially on accusations of compromises made by the state in the process, saying that he would never compromise with terrorism and that they would take all legal and legitimate steps to stop the bleeding. In his speech, Erdogan also touched on Turkey's debt to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) saying that it would be paid by May 14. "When the AKP came to power in 2002, Turkey's debt to the IMF amounted to some $2.3 billion and we decreased that to $400 million.