Turkey is working on a legal framework that would speed up the disbandment of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which will soon be on the parliament's agenda, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, as quoted by Reuters.
The move signals a potential breakthrough after the peace process between the Turkish state and the PKK has all but stalled in recent months due to the war in Iran and concerns it has sparked about regional instability. Turkey has been waging a war against the PKK for decades. The group is designated a terrorist organization. In 2025, the PKK decided to disarm and disband.
Turkey announced plans last November to create a new legal framework, but Kurdish politicians in the country accused the government of moving too slowly.
Erdogan stressed that once the necessary discussions on the new legal framework are held, it will be submitted to parliament without any delay. According to him, the problem with the PKK can be solved without the need for the state to make compromises. He said the integration of Syrian Kurdish fighters into the Syrian state apparatus, a key element of the process, is also progressing.
The PKK began an insurgency in 1984. Initially, the group sought an independent Kurdish state in southeastern Turkey, but later changed its goals to autonomy and Kurdish political rights.