Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a closed-door meeting on Monday with senior representatives of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) in Ankara, the second such meeting in ongoing talks aimed at ending the decades-long armed conflict with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the state-run Anadolu news agency reported.
The meeting, which lasted about an hour and took place at the presidential complex, was attended by DEM Party lawmakers Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar, members of the party delegation that previously met with jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan.
Also present were National Intelligence Organization (MİT) chief İbrahim Kalın and ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Deputy Chairman Efkan Ala.
The DEM Party, Turkey’s third biggest party, has played a key role in facilitating an emerging peace deal between the government and Öcalan, whose militant group, the PKK, in May announced the end of its decades-long armed conflict and decided to disband in line with a call made by Öcalan in February.
In a brief written statement after the meeting with Erdoğan, the DEM Party said the delegation presented its views and suggestions for the new stage in the ongoing peace process. “Both sides stressed the continuation of a mutual will to advance the process,” the party noted, without providing further details.
This was the second meeting between Erdoğan and the DEM Party delegation in recent months. The first meeting took place on April 10 and included DEM Party MP Sırrı Süreyya Önder, who died in May due to a heart problem. It was Erdoğan’s first direct meeting with representatives of Kurdish political groups in 13 years.
‘A historic meeting’
Speaking to reporters before Monday’s meeting, Buldan described the encounter as “historic” and emphasized its symbolic and political significance. “This is a new phase. Consultations are essential at this stage,” she said. “We intend to discuss the necessary steps to move forward. We hope for a productive and meaningful dialogue.”
For his part Sancar echoed the same sentiment, saying, “Everyone understands we’ve entered a new phase. We’re here to exchange views with the president and his team on the characteristics of this phase and what it requires going forward.”
On Sunday the delegation traveled to İmralı Island, where Öcalan has been serving a life sentence since 1999. They said they had had “a very productive two-and-a-half-hour meeting” with the 76-year-old former militant.
“He said he attached great importance our delegation’s meeting with the president, which was of a historic nature,” the delegation said in a statement.
Both Buldan and Sancar also addressed the recent deaths of 12 Turkish soldiers who were exposed to methane gas in a military operation in northern Iraq.
Sancar said he received the news while visiting Öcalan and that both were deeply saddened. “This tragedy reinforces our responsibility to push forward a peaceful path to prevent further loss of life,” he said.
Buldan added, “The value of peace becomes clearest in moments like this. We must ensure that no more lives are lost. Advancing the peace process is more important than ever.”
The meeting came as the PKK was to hold a ceremony in Iraqi Kurdistan to start destroying a first tranche of weapons, which will likely take place on or around July 10-12.
Erdoğan said the move would give momentum to peace efforts with the Kurds.
The process of laying down arms is expected to unfold over the coming months.
Founded by Öcalan in 1978, the PKK has waged a decades-long war in Turkey’s predominantly Kurdish southeast. The group is designated a terrorist organization by Turkey and its Western allies.
The peace talks were initiated by a surprise call from Devlet Bahçeli, leader of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and an ally of Erdoğan, when he offered Öcalan a surprise peace gesture in October if he would reject violence, in a move endorsed by Erdoğan.
Since Öcalan’s arrest in 1999, there have been various attempts to end the bloodshed that erupted in 1984 and has cost more than 40,000 lives. The last round of talks collapsed in a storm of violence in 2015.