ANKARA, Turkiye: A Turkish parliamentary delegation held talks Monday with Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of a Kurdish militant group, as part of an ongoing peace initiative to end a decades-long conflict.
The rare meeting with Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, centered on the militant group’s decision earlier this year to disband and lay down arms. It also addressed the implementation of an agreement that envisioned integrating Kurdish forces into a new Syrian army, according to a statement from the Turkish Grand National Assembly.
The PKK, designated a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the United States and the European Union, has waged an armed insurgency against the Turkish government since 1984. It initially sought an independent Kurdish state, later shifting to demands for autonomy and expanded rights within Turkiye. The conflict has spilled into neighboring Iraq and Syria.
The implementation of the March 10 agreement between Syria’s government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, has largely stalled.
Turkiye views the SDF as being closely linked to the PKK. It has been pressing for the execution of the deal, driven by concerns that the Syrian Kurdish fighters could retain autonomy in Syria and continue to pose security risks along its border.
