AKIPRESS.COM - Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu will step down from his post later this month, he announced Thursday, following an increasingly public rift with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, reports CNN.
Speaking in Ankara, Davutoglu said he would not seek the leadership of the ruling AKP (Justice and Development Party) at an extraordinary congress of the party on May 22, effectively ending his tenure as prime minister.
"Our party is entering a new era," said Davutoglu, who has held the post since August 2014.
The 57-year-old said stepping aside would be better "for the continuity of the unity and integrity of the party... because the fate of the AKP is not just the fate of the AKP any more, but the fate of Turkey."
Davutoglu will continue in his role as an AKP parliamentarian.
Mr Davutoglu is believed to have fallen from favour because he disapproved of Mr Erdogan's plans to move Turkey to a presidential system of government, reports BBC.
But in a speech, Mr Davutoglu pledged his loyalty to President Erdogan, saying he bore no anger against anyone.