EU urges Turkey to 'restart' solution process

BRUSSELS

EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini has called on Turkey to once again launch a "peace process" after a renowned Kurdish lawyer and two police officers were killed in gunfire in Turkey’s southeastern province of Diyarbakir on Saturday.

Mogherini was speaking to reporters ahead of meeting between EU heads of government and Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu in Brussels on Sunday.

"I would like to stress the need to start peace process with Kurds." she said. "The European Union will give all the support to restart the peace process," she said.

What is commonly known in Turkey as the solution process aims to end the 30-year conflict between Turkey and PKK militants. It began in 2013 but has stalled after the recent killings of a number of police officers and soldiers in the country.

President of the Diyarbakir Bar Association, Tahir Elci, and two police officers were killed in Diyarbakir’s central Sur district on Saturday.

"Let me say in these hours after the killing of Elci, I would like to stigmatize it as a terrible thing," Mogherini said.

EU heads of government are currently seeking Turkey’s help to stem the flow of refugees into Europe.

"We need each other, we are facing the same problem, we can be partners [and] we need to put all issues on the table," said Mogherini.