WASHINGTON DC - As the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) begins withdrawing its fighters from Turkey, attention is turning to the role of the United States in the peace process, with analysts and Kurdish researchers saying Washington’s engagement could prove pivotal in ensuring its success.
“I think right now Washington is very focused on what is going on with Washington - government shutdown, the kind of internal politics of the country,” said Alexander Palmer, Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
“Adding to that, the US-Turkey relationship, the US relationship with the Kurds has always been something of a specialist issue in the broader foreign policy community here, and it’s one that has decreased in focus as US foreign policy and national security attention has shifted very much to the Indo-Pacific and China and to Eastern and Central Europe with the war in Ukraine,” he asid.
Palmer’s comments reflect concerns among Kurdish analysts that, despite Washington’s stated support for PKK disarmament, the issue has received little attention from US policymakers and foreign policy circles.
The PKK announced on Sunday that it had begun withdrawing all its fighters from Turkey, describing it as a step based on Abdullah Ocalan’s approval. The move follows the imprisoned leader’s February call for his followers to dissolve the organization and lay down arms after more than four decades of conflict that claimed around 40,000 lives, mostly Kurdish fighters.
The announcement marks the latest phase of a peace process welcomed by Ankara. The group formally renounced its armed struggle in May and, in a symbolic act in July, burned a cache of weapons in the Kurdistan Region’s eastern Sulaimani province.
Roj Girasun, director of Rawest Research, said the process emerged largely from regional dynamics, particularly developments in Syria. “You know, this process generally started because of external dynamics, particularly because of Rojava and the Syria issue.”
Guasun said that “for this region, we know America is a major power, so it needs to be a good mediator. If it's not a good mediator and becomes a supporter of one side, this current process might stop,” addin that “America's role now is an important role. America needs to have a clearer position regarding the dialogue on HSD's [Syrian Democratic Forces in Kurdish abbreviation] integration with Syria.”
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), backed by the US-led coalition, were instrumental in defeating the Islamic State (ISIS) in Syria. The SDF is now engaged in negotiations with Damascus to integrate its forces and institutions into the Syrian state.
In recent months, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi and interim Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa signed a deal to advance that integration, with both sides reaffirming discussions on decentralization as the basis for Syria’s future political structure.
While Washington has expressed support for PKK disarmament in response to repeated Rudaw inquiries, it has stopped short of outlining a clear stance on the broader peace process or its implications for the Kurds in Turkey and Syria.
Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has called for the full dissolution of the PKK and all its affiliated groups. The PKK’s umbrella network, the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), includes organizations such as Iran’s Kurdistan Free Life Party (PJAK) and Iraq’s Shingal Resistance Units (YBS). Turkey also views Syria’s People’s Protection Units (YPG), the backbone of the SDF, as an offshoot of the PKK - a designation the SDF rejects.
In February, SDF commander Mazloum Abdi said that Ocalan’s disarmament call “does not apply to the SDF.”