Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan stated on Wednesday that work is underway on a legal framework designed to expedite the disbandment of the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), and that the legislation will be presented to parliament without significant delay. This development marks a potential breakthrough after a peace process between the Turkish state and the PKK stalled in recent months, largely due to the Iran war and ensuing regional instability concerns.
Background of the Peace Process
The PKK, which has waged a decades-long separatist insurgency against the Turkish state and is designated a terrorist organization by Ankara and its Western allies, decided in May 2025 to disarm and disband following an appeal from its jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan. Turkiye announced plans for a new legal framework last November, but Kurdish politicians accused the government of moving too slowly.
“At the point we have reached, we are working on a legal framework that will speed up the disbandment of the group. Once the necessary deliberations have been made, we will present the legislation in question to parliament without too much delay,” Erdogan told lawmakers from his ruling AK Party in parliament, without providing further details.
Erdogan's Remarks and Integration Efforts
“I believe we have the capacity to solve the issue without compromising on our state’s qualities, our people’s values,” he added, noting that the integration of Syrian Kurdish militants into Syria’s state apparatus—a key element of the process—is also progressing.
The PKK launched its insurgency in 1984. Initially seeking an independent Kurdish state in southeast Turkiye, the group later shifted its goals to autonomy and Kurdish political rights.
