ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has met with a nationalist party leader in a last-ditch effort to form a coalition alliance before a deadline for establishing a government runs out this week.
Prospects for a partnership between Davutoglu's Islamic-rooted party and the nationalist party look slim and the premier has already said that new elections appear to be Turkey's "only option."
The ruling party lost is majority in elections in June. Coalition talks with Turkey's pro-secular party collapsed last week.
The nationalist party has set stiff conditions for a partnership while Davutoglu reportedly is seeking a short-lived alliance to govern until early elections.
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who founded the ruling party, is also reported to favor new elections in the hopes that the party can win back its majority.