ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Erbil expressed readiness to facilitate discussions between Kurds and the countries where they live in the Middle East, including in Iran, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani said Tuesday, while affirming a history of consistent backing in past developments.
“We are very pleased today to see that Kurds are part of the solution - whether in Syria, as marked by the presence of Comrade Mazloum [Abdi] here, or in Iraq, where we are part of the solution,” Talabani stated at the 2026 Middle East Research Institute (MERI) Forum in Erbil.
The Kurdistan Region has played a key role in bringing Kurdish parties and Ankara and Damascus to the negotiating table. Aside from hosting meetings, the Region’s leadership, particularly President Nechirvan Barzani, has discussed the outstanding issue with the highest authorities in Turkey and Syria.
On Monday, President Barzani disclosed that he had spoken multiple times with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the past two years - since the peace process started in Turkey - about the ongoing reconciliation attempt with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
Talabani noted that the peace process in Turkey and Syria “will continue to develop, will face obstacles, may slow down in certain phases, and accelerate in others.”
“As political forces in the Kurdistan Region, we stand ready for any coordination and role assigned to us,” he added, emphasizing his position to “support” but “not interfere” in the Ankara-PKK talks as they “carry out “their work successfully.”
Furthermore, the Kurdistan Region has significantly contributed to the advancement of the integration process of the now-dissolved Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) into the Syrian state system.
Damascus and its affiliated groups launched a wide-scale offensive against areas captured by the SDF earlier in this year, retaking territories the Kurdish-led force seized during its fight with the Islamic State.
The clashes ended with an agreement in late January to integrate the civilian and military institutions built by the northeast administration (Rojava) throughout 15 years of its rule.
Mazloum Abdi, the SDF commander who is now an advisor to the Syrian presidency, on Tuesday praised the efforts of the Kurdish officials. Speaking at the same forum, he said they “spared no efforts” diplomatically to bring the SDF and Damascus to the agreement.
Showcasing support for Abdi, the KRG Deputy Prime Minister said, “If his relations with the Syrian authorities are good, ours will be good as well; and if his relations are bad, by God, ours with the Syrian authorities will go awry as well."
The KRG senior official on Tuesday also underscored that he “sees” a “potential to contribute to a peaceful resolution” in Iran.
“If a similar process begins tomorrow with Kurds in Rojhelat [Kurdish-majority regions of western Iran], we will likewise carry out our role in facilitating these issues toward a safe harbor,” he said.
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