INSTANT VIEW -Turkish court rules not to close AK Party

ANKARA (Reuters) - Turkey's top court on Wednesday ruled against closing the governing AK Party for Islamist activities but decided to impose partial financial penalties on the party, chief judge Hasim Kilic said.

The verdict was set to ease months of political uncertainty, which has battered Turkey's financial markets on fears that the democratically elected party would be closed down.

COMMENTARY

WOLFANGO PICCOLI, ANALYST, EURASIA GROUP

"It is certainly a strong warning. The AK Party was not just cut off from funding but also the actual voting of 6 to 5 is a signal. Has it let the AK Party off the hook? That depends on whether they have learned a lesson from what has happened and whether they will be able to show that they are committed to secularism.

"What they say and do in the next few weeks will be crucial, including a possible cabinet reshuffle. We should not put much hope of the reformist spirit we saw in the first term. We will probably see the AK Party becoming more of an establishment party. This ruling is good for the EU but we should not expect much reform in the short- to medium-term.

"The AK Party's popular support could get a boost from the ruling but there will be many people who will be sceptical so it will be crucial how they act going forward."

KOKSAL TOPTAN, TURKISH PARLIAMENT SPEAKER

"The threshold of Turkish democracy has been set yet higher with this decision of our high court."