ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin met with the Kurdistan Region’s top officials in Erbil on Tuesday to discuss the ongoing talks aimed at ending decades-long conflict between Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), reported Turkish state media.
The Turkish state-run broadcaster TRT, citing “security sources,” reported that the head of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MIT), Kalin, held meetings with preeminent Kurdish leader and head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Masoud Barzani.
He also met with Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and his Deputy Qubad Talabani, as well as Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed and officials from the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC).
The Turkish intelligence chief’s discussions reportedly focused on what is widely known as the peace process between Ankara and the PKK, as well as “future steps aimed at ridding the entire region of terrorism,” TRT relayed.
Ankara calls the process “terror-free Turkey.”
The PKK announced its dissolution and an end to its four-decade armed struggle in May, in response to a February call by its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan to end the conflict - which has claimed around 40,000 lives - and pursue a political and democratic path.
While Turkey has welcomed the PKK’s move, it has emphasized the need for the decision to materialize on the ground. Meanwhile, the PKK expects democratic reforms from Ankara as part of the process.
Rudaw was first to report on Monday that the first group of PKK fighters is set to disarm in the Kurdistan Region this month.
The disarmament process is expected to begin in the Kurdistan Region in early July, as the first practical step in implementing the PKK’s decision to lay down arms and end its armed struggle against Turkey.
“In the next few days, Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the PKK, will publish a new message about the process, and after that, the disarmament process will begin,” a well-placed source told Rudaw.
Another source added that between July 3 and 10, a group of PKK fighters - ranging between 20 to 30 - will lay down their arms in a ceremony in the Region’s eastern Sulaimani province.
“The guerrillas will lay down their weapons in the ceremony and return to where they currently live, meaning they will not return to the cities,” the source explained.
AFP cited unnamed sources on Tuesday as saying that the PKK fighters will either destroy their weapons or burn them.
Founded in 1978, the PKK initially sought to establish an independent Kurdish state but later shifted its focus toward securing broader political and cultural rights for Kurds in Turkey. The group is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey and several of its Western allies.
