"War is No Solution": President Barzani pushes for Kurdish-Turkish peace
Shafaq News/ Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani reiterated his steadfast support for the initiative to resume the peace process in Turkiye during a high-level meeting with the İmralı delegation on Monday.
A statement from the Kurdistan Region Presidency noted that the delegation—comprising politicians and figures who have previously visited PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan in İmralı Prison, where he has been serving a life sentence since 1999—briefed Barzani on efforts to restart the peace process in Turkiye.
سهرۆك نێچيرڤان بارزانى: بۆ ههموو هاوكارى و پشتگيرييهكی پرۆسهى ئاشتى له توركيا ئامادهينhttps://t.co/0DzNrphJf1 pic.twitter.com/ODDAScQFBK
— Kurdistan Region Presidency (@KurdistanRegion) February 17, 2025
Emphasizing that “war and weapons cannot solve any problem,” Barzani described the initiative as a “historic opportunity to strengthen Kurdish-Turkish brotherhood and forge a path toward lasting peace.”
President Barzani underscored the strategic importance of the peace process, urging that the PKK adopt a strategic vision in addressing the longstanding conflict, and warned against missing this pivotal opportunity.
After the meeting, the delegation held a joint press conference with Erbil Governor Omed Khoshnaw highlighting the critical role the Kurdistan Region has played in mediating the Kurdish issue, and noting that it delivered Öcalan’s message directly to regional leaders.
The delegation is scheduled to travel to Al-Sulaymaniyah to meet with the President of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Bafel Talabani before returning to Turkiye, where the outcomes of these discussions will be formally announced.
Earlier, the delegation met with Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani, conveying Öcalan’s greetings and detailed their vision for the future of the Kurdish people and the resolution of the Kurdish issue through democratic means. They stressed that “a peaceful, negotiated solution would yield positive outcomes for both Turkiye and the Kurdistan Region.”
Kurdish political leaders have indicated that Öcalan is expected to issue a “historic call” in the coming weeks—likely before the Nowruz holiday on March 21—urging his party to disarm, a move seen as a potential breakthrough in resolving the conflict between the PKK and Ankara.
The peace process has been stalled for nearly a decade. The PKK launched its armed struggle in 1984 for an independent Kurdish state before later shifting its aim toward autonomy within Turkiye.
The conflict has claimed over 40,000 lives, destroyed thousands of villages, and displaced countless communities.
Although the arrest of Öcalan in 1999 dealt a major blow to the organization, it has persisted in its activities. In 2013, Öcalan called for a ceasefire and a strategic withdrawal from Turkish territories—a declaration deemed “historic” at the time—though the ceasefire ultimately collapsed in 2015 following renewed airstrikes between Turkish forces and PKK in northern Iraq.
