Ocalan appeals to Barzani to mediate in Turkey-PKK peace efforts – Al-Monitor
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Abdullah Ocalan, imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), has appealed to Nechirvan Barzani, president of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), to play a leadership role in ongoing peace talks between the PKK and Turkey, Al-Monitor reported on Tuesday.
In a letter delivered to Barzani last week, Ocalan said the outcome of the talks “will inevitably affect Iraq and the Kurdistan Region,” calling for a “lasting solution based on democratic principles.”
He urged Barzani to “take on leadership of the process,” Al-Monitor reported, citing excerpts from the message.
The appeal came amid uncertainty over the future of the negotiations, launched last year to end four decades of armed conflict between the PKK and Turkey.
The letter coincided with Barzani’s Oct. 9 meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara, where the Kurdish leader reportedly encouraged Ankara to advance a legal framework allowing PKK fighters to return from Iraq to Turkey.
Barzani, however, publicly criticized the PKK a day earlier, accusing it of ignoring Ocalan’s directives — remarks that drew an angry response from the group.
The development follows Turkey’s decision to lift its flight ban on Sulaimaniyah International Airport, imposed in 2023 over PKK activity, in what observers view as a gesture toward Barzani.
Analysts say the Kurdistan Region president has become a key broker in Kurdish and regional diplomacy, though the political and electoral impact of his mediation remains uncertain.