The state of emergency declared in the aftermath of Turkey's failed July 2016 coup attempt may be lifted in the "not too distant future," President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said.
“We will surely end this implementation once the need in our anti-terrorism fight is removed.
FETÖ cases have started to take shape, and we have also gained significant ground in the anti-PKK fight. So it is possible that the state of emergency will be lifted in the not too distant future, even though we are already implementing it in a very limited area,” Erdoğan said in a speech to investors in Ankara.
However, Erdoğan also said it was "out of the question" under current circumstances to the lift the emergency rule.
"There can be no question of lifting emergency rule with all that is currently happening. People ask when emergency rule will finish. It will finish when this business is completely sorted out," he said.