ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - In a message to a forum in Istanbul on Saturday, Kurdistan Region President Nechrivan Barzani said peace requires the establishment of trust and not just silencing weapons.
"Peace is not merely the silencing of weapons, but rather a process for building trust, accepting one another, and finding common ground among differences,” Barzani told the International Peace and Democratic Society Conference in a statement read out by his spokesperson Dilshad Shahab.
The conference was organized by the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), which is the main mediator of peace talks between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Turkish state.
Barzani reiterated Kurdistan Region’s support for the ongoing talks that were initiated more than a year ago. As part of the negotiations, the PKK has dissolved itself, announced its decision to lay down arms, and abandoned some strategic positions on Kurdistan Region’s borders with Turkey. However, the group has accused the state of not contributing enough to the peace process.
“Violence and conflict have brought nothing but destruction and backwardness to peoples. But whenever the door to dialogue has been opened, whenever there has been political will for peace, great opportunities for development and stability have emerged,” said Barzani’s spokesperson.
The Kurdistan Region enjoys strong political and economic relations with Turkey. Barzani said Turkey is “an important country and our strategic neighbor,” noting that its stability and progress directly impacts the Kurdistan Region.
The PKK and Ankara have both said the Kurdistan Region plays a positive role in the peace process, which the Region’s leaders have repeatedly shown full support for.
“In recent years, we have supported peace in every way possible. That phase proved that dialogue can achieve great gains for all sides. Today, we reaffirm all our support for the success of peace. The Kurdistan Region will, as always, be a factor of stability in the region,” said Barzani.
He thanked Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan for their contributions towards achieving peace.