Peregraf
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia' Al-Sudani met on Monday in Doha with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on the sidelines of the Emergency Arab-Islamic Summit, the Prime Minister’s Media Office said.
The talks focused on regional developments, security, and stability, with both leaders stressing the importance of joint Arab and Islamic efforts to halt violations against Palestinians in Gaza and other Arab countries, including recent aggression against Qatar.
A key topic was Iraq’s role in supporting the peace agreement between Türkiye and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Erdoğan praised Baghdad’s contribution to regional stability and described Iraq’s involvement as "pivotal" in advancing the PKK peace process.
Background on the PKK Peace Process
The peace process comes amid renewed gestures from the PKK toward disarmament. Murat Karayılan, a senior PKK commander, reiterated the group’s readiness for peace in a message delivered at the 33rd International Kurdish Culture Festival in Dortmund, Germany, on September 13. He emphasized that the PKK has made strategic decisions to end its armed struggle, even symbolically burning weapons as part of its congress resolutions.
"We burned our weapons! That’s not an easy thing. We would not have done so if we had not looked at this process strategically. Therefore, everyone, especially the Turkish state, must see our seriousness," Karayılan said. He stressed that progress requires two essential steps: the physical freedom of PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan and recognition of Kurdish language and culture on an equal basis in Turkey.
Turkey’s Parliament recently established the Commission on Democracy, Brotherhood, and National Unity to explore a peaceful resolution to the Kurdish question. The commission includes representatives from across the political spectrum, including the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), the ultranationalist Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), and the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party). While Turkish leaders view the commission as a hopeful step, the PKK remains cautious, arguing that no practical measures have yet been implemented despite its symbolic disarmament gestures.
The process gained momentum on July 11, when 30 PKK fighters burned their weapons in Jasana Cave in Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah province. Two days earlier, Abdullah Öcalan appeared in a surprise video address—the first in 26 years—formally ending the PKK’s armed campaign and calling for democratic political methods. President Erdoğan hailed these developments as a "historic turning point," crediting cooperation from both the Iraqi federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in facilitating the process.