ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - A senior commander of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) said on Thursday that the Turkish government has “frozen” the peace process with the Kurdish group, despite steps taken by the PKK. In contrast, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the process is progressing as expected, describing it as a “positive atmosphere.”
The renewed peace push emerged in late 2024, driven by shifting regional dynamics and renewed political will after years of conflict between Ankara and the PKK. A major turning point came when jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan called on the group in February 2025 to disarm and dissolve. The PKK said it heeded the call, holding a symbolic disarmament ceremony and withdrawing from some conflict zones.
However, Kurdish and Turkish officials have since issued conflicting assessments of the process.
Murat Karayilan, a senior commander of the now-dissolved PKK, was cited by PKK-affiliated media as saying there have been no meetings between Ocalan and mediators for over a month, suggesting Ankara has effectively halted progress. Ocalan has often been deprived of meetings with his family and lawyers, but he has held multiple meetings during the process.
“The last comprehensive meeting between a state delegation and the DEM Party [Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party] delegation with Leader Apo [Ocalan] on March 27 created great expectations. However, as far as it is understood, a conclusion has been reached that will lead to the freezing of the process in the eyes of the government and the upper level of the state on the axis of the issues that came to the agenda and discussed in this meeting,” said Karayilan.
When asked if the process has been frozen, he replied, “Yes, as of now, the process has been frozen. This is what is reflected in us and what we see.”
Ankara, however, rejects that characterization.
Addressing lawmakers on Wednesday, Erdogan said that “despite all the covert and overt sabotage we have faced” since the start of the process, “we have managed to overcome many critical thresholds peacefully.”
“I emphasize once again today that we are not paying attention to the empty noise that certain circles have been trying to stir up in recent days regarding the process. Those who write pessimistic scenarios about the process, I say openly, are acting not on facts, but entirely on their delusions,” he added.
He also said there is a “positive atmosphere” and that the process is “progressing as it should.”
In February, Turkish lawmakers approved a report laying the groundwork for PKK fighters who renounce violence to reintegrate into society, though it stopped short of granting amnesty. The parliament was expected to follow up with legislation to formalize the process, but no concrete steps have been taken since.
Tulay Hatimoglullari, a co-chair of the DEM Party, warned earlier this week that delays from Ankara risk undermining momentum.
“While we have come so close to peace, while we are talking so much about peace and democratization, while we should be moving toward the horizon of peace with determined steps—what is the government doing? It is acting in a hesitant, timid, and delaying manner. We underline this once again: every moment that the government fails to take steps in the peace process paves the way for opponents of the process to develop provocative attitudes full of tricks and manipulations,” she said.
The latest remarks highlight growing uncertainty around the future of the process, which, if sustained, could mark the most significant breakthrough in the decades-long conflict between Turkey and the PKK.