The Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK ) Executive Council Presidency has released a statement responding to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's threats about the BDP (Peace and Democracy Party) delegation visiting Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan in İmralı prison.

The KCK pointed out that Erdoğan's threats and approach manifested his and his government's intention to start a war instead of taking steps for a solution to the Kurdish issue.

“It has been seen once again that the AKP government is gaining time before the elections and following a strategy aimed at maintaining his ruling by also taking votes from the MHP (Nationalist Movement Party) and CHP (Republican People's Party) circles by means of nationalist discourses”, KCK underlined.

Last week BDP (Peace and Democracy Party) co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş said at a press conference that the government prevented him from going to visit Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan.

PM Erdoğan answered saying that  “He [Demirtaş] would fall out with the Ministry of Justice and break up the links for such a meeting should he continue to make such statements”.

Demirtaş had previously criticized the government saying it was not interested in any peace process.