Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit walked out Monday of a national security meeting, warning that a "serious crisis" had arisen between him and President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, said reports.
He called an immediate cabinet meeting of all three parties in the coalition government, reported the BBC.online.
Ecevit was quoted by AFP as saying that "before we moved onto the agenda of the meeting, the president made grave accusations against me in full negligence of good manners in front of other state officials."
Ecevit said he opted to leave the meeting, which groups both military and civilian leaders, rather than respond to Sezer, said the agency, adding that his ministers then followed him.
"This is a serious crisis," he said.
Turkish shares fell 11 percent on news of the row with the president, who has frequently been at odds with the prime minister since his election in May last year, said the BBC, adding that markets had only just begun to recover from a financial crisis in November and December last year.
Monday's dispute is the latest in a series of disagreements between Ecevit and Sezer, a former head of Turkey's constitutional court, who has in the past refused to sign several government decrees on the grounds that they were unconstitutional, said AFP.
Sezer was elected president in May last year and was the candidate put forward by Ecevit's three-way coalition -- Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
