The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the Turkish government has proposed to extend the state of emergency by an extra three months at the recommendation of the National Security Council.

At a meeting with officials responsible for neighbourhoods and cities on Thursday, Erdogan stressed that the state of emergency is important and does not affect the lives of citizens. He added that there is no reason for the decision to be criticised and stressed that the extension of the state of emergency is in Turkey’s best interests.

Erdogan said cleansing the state of terrorist is a complex issue to a certain extent, and believes that the original three-month state of emergency that was declared after the failed July 15 coup attempt was not sufficient. He added that the National Security Council recommended that the government extend it by a further three months in an extraordinary meeting that it held on Wednesday evening. He also pointed out that France has extended the state of emergency in stages to a year and did not ask anyone in the world about it, indicating the possibility of extending the state of emergency in Turkey to 12 months.

The Turkish National Security Council recommended that the state of emergency that was declared in the country against the backdrop of the failed coup attempt that took place in mid-July be extended at an extraordinary meeting chaired by Erdogan that lasted for several hours.