ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani on Saturday called on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to reduce tensions with Turkey and resume its peace process, following Turkish raids on the militants’ bases in Kurdistan.
Barzani said that Kurdistan was ready to help the two sides resume peace talks. He added that Turkish military attacks on the PKK’s base in Kurdistan’s Qandil Mountains had followed provocative statements made by the group’s leaders.
“Unfortunately, the bombardments followed comments made by the leader of the Group of Communities in Kurdistan (KCK), claiming that the ceasefire and peace process between Turkey and the PKK is terminated,” Barzani explained in a statement.
The KCK was founded by the PKK to promote the ideas of the guerrilla group’s leader, Abdullah Ocalan, who remains jailed in Turkey.
Turkish jets carried out raids on PKK bases in Qandil early Saturday.
Barzani said the PKK should “settle down and fully attempt to bring back the peace process and ceasefire. ”We are ready for any help,” he added.
His statement explained throughout that the PKK had claimed responsibility on recent deadly attacks on Turkish police. “That made the situation more complicated,” he said.
Barzani praised the peace process between Turkey and the PKK, saying it had “led to better well-being for the people of the country.”
The statement said that Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani was likewise willing to intervene to revive the peace process between Ankara and the PKK.
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