Leader Barzani welcomes Turkiye peace progress
Shafaq News – Erbil
On Friday, Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani described the steps taken toward peace in Turkiye as "significant and moving in the right direction," stressing that ten years of dialogue outweigh one hour of war.
According to a statement from the leader’s media office, Barzani hosted a delegation from Turkiye’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) at the Saladin Resort.
He also highlighted the importance of patience and careful steps to achieve positive results in the peace process, stressing that resolving issues requires political struggle, dialogue, mutual acceptance, and diplomacy rather than violence or armed conflict.
Committing to support the peace process, Barzani urged all political parties
in Kurdistan to back efforts leading to a peaceful resolution in Turkiye.
In turn, the visitors expressed appreciation for Barzani’s strategic and national role in supporting the peace process in Turkiye, encouraging him to maintain this role throughout its various stages. They also delivered a message from Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan, inviting Barzani to visit him.
The meeting followed a symbolic event in which dozens of PKK fighters burned their weapons inside Jasna cave, located between Dukan district and the city of Al-Sulaymaniyah in northern Iraq. This act marked the group’s initial step toward disarmament and a shift from armed struggle to political engagement in Turkiye.
On May 12, the PKK formally announced its dissolution and renounced armed struggle, ending more than four decades of conflict that claimed over 40,000 lives.
