Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has requested to meet with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli following the failed coalition talks between the Justice and Development (AK) Party and the Republican People's Party (CHP).
Davutoglu's AK Party had been seeking a coalition partner after no party won a simple majority in the June 7 general election, but the PM announced earlier on Thursday that no agreement to form a coalition government had been found with CHP leader, Kemal Kilicdaroglu.
Davutoglu's request was submitted to Bahceli in the evening hours, prime ministry sources said.
Davutoglu had met with Bahceli on July 14 as part of the first round of coalition talks. Following the meeting, Davutoglu told reporters that the MHP had opted not to take part in a coalition government.
"[Bahceli] spoke to reiterate his stance of staying out of a coalition partnership," he said, adding that the two agreed to meet again during the second round if needed.
Bahceli issued a written statement Monday, calling for an immediate formation of a coalition government between the AK Party and the CHP.
"These two parties should not avoid taking the big responsibility that history has put them in front of and should show their will and attention to form a government in line with national interests," Bahceli said.
He also urged the two parties to hold coalition negotiations "without behaving reluctantly or having imaginary discussions involving infertile standoffs".
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had asked Davutoglu to form a new government on July 9, and negotiations between the AK Party and the second-placed CHP had been going on since July 13.