President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has given the green light to a potential meeting with the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) as part of ongoing discussions regarding the Kurdish issue and the disarmament of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The DEM Party has formally announced its intention to request an appointment with Erdoğan following his statement on March 12 that he would be open to such a meeting.
Responding to a journalist’s question after a parliamentary group meeting of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Erdoğan stated, “My friends will meet with them. If a request for an appointment is made, I will give it.”
This move comes in the wake of a recent call by jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan urging the militant group to disarm and dissolve. The DEM Party, which has been facilitating dialogues related to the peace process, initiated outreach efforts to other political parties on March 11 as part of a broader initiative linked to Öcalan’s message.
The DEM Party’s anticipated meeting with the AKP is scheduled for March 17. Hours after Erdoğan’s remarks, DEM Party Co-Chair Tuncer Bakırhan confirmed that a formal request for an appointment with the president would be submitted imminently.
Ahmet Türk, a veteran Kurdish politician and a key figure in past peace efforts, described Erdoğan’s willingness to meet as a significant and constructive development. “Naturally, the president is the head of this country. We wish to engage with him and convey our perspectives regarding a resolution to this issue,” Türk said. Notably, Türk was part of a previous DEM Party delegation that visited İmralı Island to hold talks with Öcalan.
As part of its broader political consultations, the DEM Party met with the Felicity Party, the Future Party, and the Workers’ Party of Türkiye on March 12 to discuss pathways toward a resolution. However, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), an ally of Erdoğan, has firmly rejected the idea of engaging with the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) on the matter, citing a TV interview on March 11 in which a CHP figure was accused of failing to take a firm stance against terrorism.
MHP leadership stated that they would only consider dialogue with the CHP if the party demonstrated an unequivocal position against terrorism, criticizing it for an allegedly ambiguous stance on efforts to eradicate the PKK.
The latest peace initiative was initially sparked by an unexpected gesture from MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli in October 2024, when he suggested a conditional peace offer to Öcalan if the PKK renounced violence. Erdoğan later endorsed this move, leading to Öcalan’s call for the PKK to convene a congress to disband.
Despite these political overtures, Turkish security forces have continued operations against PKK militants. In recent days, Turkish forces reported the deaths of 26 PKK fighters in military operations across northern Iraq and Syria. Erdoğan has reaffirmed that military action will persist against PKK affiliates that refuse to disarm.
