ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The leader of Turkey’s far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) said on Sunday that the Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) peace process is expected to be completed by the end of 2025, with efforts in Turkey underway to expedite the process. “The Terror-Free Turkey process will be completed by the end of the year,” Devlet Bahceli, who launched the peace process last year, said in a meeting with the heads of Turkish media channels on Sunday, as reported by the Turkish tv100. “We see promising development for the near future,” he noted. Bahceli further praised the PKK’s ceremonial disarmament on July 11, where 30 members and commanders burned their weapons, describing the symbolic step as a promise to Ankara that "we [PKK] will never lay our hands on weapons again." The PKK’s disarmament ceremony followed its leader Abdullah Ocalan’s call to abandon their armed struggle and pursue a political solution to secure Kurdish rights in Turkey. A Turkish parliamentary commission tasked with establishing a legal framework for the peace process has been established and on Friday had its second meeting. The sessions are being held under the confidentiality rule, keeping the record sealed for ten years. In October, Bahceli initiated the peace process when he called for Ocalan to be allowed to address the Turkish parliament and declare the PKK’s dissolution. The PKK, established in 1978, initially sought Kurdish independence before shifting its focus to securing political and cultural rights for Kurds in Turkey. It is designated as a terrorist organization by Ankara and its Western allies.
Turkey21-05-2026Suspension of main opposition leadership targets Turkey-PKK peace process: Mediating party
