A delegation from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) that has been involved in peace talks aimed at resolving an armed conflict between the Turkish state and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) will travel to northern Iraq on Sunday to meet with senior Iraqi Kurdish leaders, according to a statement from the party.
While there has been no confirmation from the Turkish government, the possibility of a new peace initiative has recently been the subject of political debate in Ankara, with the DEM Party delegation paying two visits to jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan over the past two months as part of the talks.
The DEM Party delegation, including lawmakers Pervin Buldan and Sırrı Süreyya Önder and pro-Kurdish Democratic Regions Party (DBP) Co-chairperson Keskin Bayındır as well as other DEM Party officials responsible for foreign affairs will travel to the Kurdistan region of Iraq to have talks with Iraqi Kurdish leaders about the ongoing peace talks in Turkey.
The delegation will meet with President Nechirvan Barzani, who heads the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), and Masoud Barzani, the longtime leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), the ruling party in Iraqi Kurdistan, in Erbil on Sunday.
They will also meet with Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), Bafel Jalal Talabani and other PUK officials in Sulaymaniyah on Monday.
The delegation will provide details of their meetings with Öcalan and will discuss the ongoing peace talks with the Iraqi Kurdish officials. They will later share their insights with Öcalan during their next meeting, according to the announcement.
Öcalan, who founded the PKK nearly half a century ago to fight for Kurdish rights, has been held in a high-security prison on İmralı Island since 1999.
The KRG has historically maintained diplomatic engagement with Kurdish political groups in Turkey, balancing its relations with both Ankara and Kurdish opposition groups.
Political observers suggest that discussions could revolve around securing greater Kurdish rights in Turkey’s constitution.
This may include official recognition of the Kurdish language, the release of imprisoned Kurdish politicians and the removal of government-appointed trustees from Kurdish municipalities — measures that could serve as confidence-building steps toward long-term reconciliation.
The DEM Party delegation’s meeting with the Iraqi Kurdish officials will come at a time when Öcalan is expected to make a “historic call,” as announced by DEM Party Co-chairperson Tuncay Bakırhan at a party meeting last week.
Without elaborating on what the content would be, Bakırkan said Öcalan will make the “historic call” in the coming days.
According to Turkish media, Öcalan may call for the dissolution of the PKK or a full withdrawal of its armed elements from Turkey.
The PKK has been waging a bloody war in Turkey’s southeast since 1984, with tens of thousands of people killed in the conflict. The group is designated as a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.
Critics of the peace talks say the public has been given little information about the discussions’ content. They question what concessions Turkey will offer to persuade the PKK to lay down its arms and what steps the government will take to improve the cultural, political and linguistic rights of the Kurds, who have been fighting for these rights for many years.
In 2015 a peace attempt initiated by Ankara broke down, unleashing a wave of violence in the country’s predominantly Kurdish southeast.