ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler said on Wednesday that Turkey has set three conditions for the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the ongoing peace talks between both sides, including the disarmament of the group. He further noted that PKK fighters would later be informed of the designated location where they should lay down their arms.
“It has to dissolve itself and [PKK fighters] have to surrender their weapons and themselves,” Guler told journalists, adding “Those will be told to them.”
Turkey and the PKK have been engaged in a decades-long armed conflict. Ankara and its western allies consider the group a terrorist organization. Founded in 1978, the PKK initially struggled for autonomy but now seeks broader cultural and political rights within Turkey.
The peace efforts to resolve the Ankara-PKK conflict - which has lasted more than four decades and claimed over 40,000 lives - have gained new momentum in recent months.
Turkey’s defense ministry announced on Wednesday that a Turkish soldier was killed by PKK on the Kurdistan Region’s bordering areas.
In late February, jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan called on the PKK to disarm and disband.
The PKK responded to Ocalan’s message, expressing willingness to uphold his call and declaring a unilateral ceasefire with Turkey, while accusing Ankara of continuing attacks against its members. The group also requested a physical meeting with Ocalan as a precondition for the success of the peace process.
Omer Celik, spokesperson for Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) said on Monday that “new developments” could arise later this month regarding the peace process.
