Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmuş made statements about the process initiated for resolving the Kurdish issue during his meeting with youths as part of the May 19 events.

Referring to the conflicts that have claimed over 40,000 lives, Kurtulmuş said: "Together, with Turks, Kurds, and all ethnic components, we will unite as Turkey and build a strong country."

Highlighting that nearly all regional countries have entered a phase of separation, fragmentation, and disintegration since the U.S. intervention in Iraq, Kurtulmuş said that there are now two options ahead: "Iraq and Syria have been shattered; Lebanon has become ungovernable; Libya, Sudan, Somalia, Yemen have been divided. Almost all regional countries have been turned into parties to conflicts that aren't their own, some via tribalism, ethnic differences, or sectarian clashes, and others through terrorist organizations. We can either wait like the ‘yellow ox’ for our turn to be torn apart, or the people of Turkey, Turks and Kurds, can come together and overturn this imperialist project. We choose the latter and will continue down this path."

The Speaker of Parliament added that Turkey has entered a critical phase and continued: "Our greatest wish and goal is for this path to be completed as soon as possible and for the children of this country to move forward together, as brothers and sisters, shoulder to shoulder. Without a doubt, there will be those who worry and say ‘Let this not happen,’ elements acting as tools of certain projects who will try to poison this process or hinder it through provocations. We anticipate this and have taken all necessary precautions. We will build a Turkey where no bombs explode, where people live without fear, where songs of brotherhood and peace are sung everywhere, and where people act in unity and solidarity. I hope that with the completion of this process, we will all witness a clearer path and more visible goals ahead."