Concrete steps must be seen in the process of the PKK laying down arms in the upcoming few months, ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) spokesperson Ömer Çelik said on Wednesday, indicating that Ankara has prepared the necessary mechanisms to follow the process.
“We said that the terrorist organization must thoroughly turn over its weapons – this will be confirmed through mechanisms built by Türkiye. Mechanisms are ready, created by past experiences of our National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) to monitor whether arms are laid down and to what extent,” Çelik said after the party’s Central Executive Committee (MYK) in Ankara.
He said that the terrorist organization must dissolve itself with all its affiliates, such as “the SDF in Syria, PJAK in Iran.”
Çelik said that Türkiye has issues to discuss with Baghdad, Irbil and Suleymaniyah for this process to proceed in an integrated manner.
“The terror-free Türkiye initiative will also inspire an understanding of a terror-free region.”
The initiative was launched by government ally Devlet Bahçeli, head of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), who called on the PKK’s jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan to appeal to the PKK to lay down arms last year.
Soon, his call evolved into a new initiative that saw Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) lawmakers visiting Öcalan in the island prison where he is incarcerated in the Marmara Sea. As a result and in a landmark development, the PKK last month announced its dissolution and the end of its four-decade terror campaign that cost tens of thousands of lives in Türkiye, as well as in Iraq and Syria.
Ukraine diplomacy
Çelik also spoke on the recent talks between Ukraine and Russia that Türkiye hosted to solve the ongoing war.
“When the sides are ready to solve the issue on the table, there is an agreement between the leaders (U.S. President Donald) Trump, (Russian President Vladimir) Putin and (Ukrainian President Volodymyr) Zelenskyy to meet in Istanbul under the auspices of President (Recep Tayyip) Erdoğan. However, there are still processes that need to ripen.”
He said the delegations have tasks to work on, after which meetings at the minister level could take place.
“There was a very heavy attack the day before the meeting in Istanbul. But despite that, the Istanbul talks continued. Again, decisions were made regarding the prisoner exchange and other issues.”
Türkiye has often proposed to host the leaders for peace talks. Zelenskyy said Ukraine was ready “any day” for a meeting hosted by Erdoğan that would also include the U.S. and Russian leaders. The White House, meanwhile, says Trump is “open” to such a meeting.
Russia wants Ukraine to make massive territorial concessions, giving up even more land than it has lost on the battlefield, and has also at times sought the removal of Zelenskyy, pledges of military neutrality and limits on Ukraine’s army. Kyiv and the West reject those calls, but Zelenskyy has conceded that Ukraine might only regain some territory through diplomacy. Tens of thousands have been killed since Russia invaded in February 2022, and Moscow’s army controls around a fifth of Ukraine’s territory.
Turkish efforts
NATO member Türkiye is one of the most active countries working to ensure a permanent cease-fire between Ukraine and Russia. Its delicately balanced act of assuming a role as a mediator by keeping communication channels with both warring sides open provides a glimmer of hope in diplomatic efforts to find a solution and achieve peace in the Ukraine crisis. With its unique position of having friendly relations with both Russia and Ukraine, Türkiye has won widespread praise for its push to end the war.
While Ankara has opposed international sanctions designed to isolate Moscow, it also closed its straits to prevent some Russian vessels from crossing through them.
Representatives for Moscow and Kyiv discussed an outline previously in Istanbul to end the war in March 2022.
But those talks broke down following Russia’s retreat from the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, where hundreds of civilians were found dead following a month-long occupation by Russian forces.
Contact between the warring sides has been limited since and mainly dedicated to humanitarian issues such as prisoner exchanges and the repatriation of soldiers’ remains.
Ankara was also a key player in the now-hold deal that allowed for the safe passage of Ukrainian grain shipments via the Black Sea despite the blockade of its ports after Moscow launched its invasion in late February 2022.
