Turkey, PUK move to repair ties as Kurdish peace initiative reshapes Ankara’s Iraq policy

Turkey’s foreign minister met with a senior official from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in Ankara on Friday, the latest sign of a thaw after years of tension between Turkey and the Iraqi Kurdish party that controls Sulaymaniyah.

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan received Qubad Talabani, deputy prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and a senior PUK figure, the Turkish Foreign Ministry announced.

The meeting followed a visit by Turkish intelligence chief İbrahim Kalın to Sulaymaniyah on July 1, where he met with PUK leader Bafel Talabani and Qubad Talabani.

The talks centered on Turkey’s renewed peace efforts with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and regional security, according to accounts of the meeting.

Talabani expressed support for the peace initiative and said the Kurdistan Region and the PUK were ready to help it succeed.

He also said the PUK would not become part of regional conflicts or tensions and would work with its partners to protect peace and stability.

The remarks came amid the conflict involving Iran, the United States and Israel, a sensitive issue for Sulaymaniyah, where the PUK has long had ties with Tehran.

The contacts mark a shift in Turkey’s approach to Iraq’s Kurdish politics. Ankara has maintained close ties with the Kurdistan Democratic Party, the dominant force in Erbil, while relations with the PUK deteriorated over Turkish accusations that the PKK had expanded its activity around Sulaymaniyah.

Turkey closed its airspace to flights using Sulaymaniyah International Airport in 2023, citing PKK activity. The ban was lifted in October 2025 after the PKK peace initiative gained momentum.

The PKK, which has waged an insurgency against Turkey since 1984, announced in 2025 that it would lay down arms and disband after a call from its imprisoned founder, Abdullah Öcalan. The conflict has killed more than 40,000 people.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said last month that his government was preparing legislation to speed up the PKK’s disbanding, while Kurdish politicians have urged Ankara to match the PKK’s steps to give up arms with legal and political reforms.