Al-Monitor exclusive: Turkey mulls peace talks with Kurds
Supporters of the pro-Kurdish DEM Party attend a rally for the Turkish municipal elections to be held on March 31, in Esenyurt Square, in Istanbul, on Feb. 25, 2024.
11.10.2024
In an exclusive Al-Monitor report, three well-placed sources told Amberin Zaman that exploratory talks for a possible resumption of negotiations between the Turkish government and Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), are underway.
It would mark the first meaningful process in close to a decade, Zaman reports.
Why now? Ankara was spurred by the threat of a broader conflagration in the Middle East that could encompass Turkey’s eastern neighbor, Iran. Ankara, much like other regional actors, is on tenterhooks as Israel mulls its response to Iran’s Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack on Israel and is concerned that Tehran could strike its own deal with the PKK.
Like Syria, Iraqi Kurdistan has increasingly pitted Turkey and Iran against one another. Tehran, for its part, sees Turkey’s military footprint on the territory as a threat to its Shiite militias.
Kommentare
Kommentar veröffentlichen