Speaking from Hungary on Wednesday, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said BDP (Peace and Democracy Party) deputies who hugged PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) members in Şemdinli shouldn't be included in the BDP delegation to pay the next visit to Imralı in the scope of ongoing talks with the jailed leader of the Kurdish people, Abdullah Öcalan. 
With "BDP deputies who hugged PKK members in Şemdinli", Erdoğan referred to BDP co-chair and Siirt deputy Gültan Kışanak and Van deputy Aysel Tuğluk who warmly hugged and talked with several Kurdish guerrillas they encountered on a road control spot of guerrillas on the Semdinli highway in August 2012. The BDP was accused to have pre-planned the meeting with the guerrillas, a claim countered by the deputies who said the encounter was just a coinsidence.
"Those who have inflicted a heavy blow on the sensitivity of this country with the messages they gave cannot be approved to act as mediators at this point because they have the probability of conveying the message they will receive from Imralı in a different way outside. Besides, there is no obligation of involving co-chairs in visits to the Imralı prison. Our Justice Minister receives the applications and makes a decision about them following an evaluation. It is quite out of the question for us to allow all those applicants to go to Imralı. His (referring to Öcalan) wife, relatives, parents and siblings may well be allowed to visit him but the applications of politicians are subject to permission. They will be allowed to pay a visit if they are deemed suitable for it", Erdoğan said.
The PM also made some statements on the European Union (EU) which he said wasn't a "must" for Turkey. "No great trouble will arise if they don't admit Turkey into the EU as we are already making our way with persistence", he said and noted that he didn't understand why the EU insists on making a stand against Turkey. Erdoğan underlined that Turkey was the only Muslim country in NATO and asked "Why wouldn't we take place in the EU too?".
"First of all, Turkey has a population of 76 million as well as a dynamic structure. On the other hand, the EU made some promises to Turkey, such as the Northern Cyprus issue, but it hasn't kept its promises yet. All these matters constitute an adversity", he added.