Nechirvan Barzani, the prime minister of northern Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), has branded the outlawed PKK, which is headquartered in the region's Qandil Mountains since it departed Turkey following a cease-fire, as "visitors." The KRG expects the PKK to return to Turkey upon the finalization of the reconciliation process with the Turkish government. The KRG, although partners in the fight against the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), is reluctant to host the PKK in Iraqi territory permanently, due to the PKK's constant prying into the domestic affairs of the country.

The traditional rivals have been at odds with each other as the KRG's ruling party refuses to see the PKK's Syrian extension, the PYD as the leader of the Kurdish movement.

"The PKK has been staying here as a guest for years. And we received them as guests. Without a doubt, the day will come when the problems are defused. When they [the problems] are dispelled, those who are here will go back to their country," said Barzani, referring to the presence of his Kurdistan Democratic Party's (KDP) long-standing rival in its territory.

Barzani made the remarks at a press conference after he received executives of the Bet-Nahrain Democratic Party, an Assyrian political party in Iraq, Kurdish media reported. In response to a question from a reporter, Barzani stressed that the PKK's political sphere is "not the Iraqi KRG, but Turkey."

"Their [the PKK's] status is as a guest in the KRG," Barzani said, and continued. "We hope the problems are solved with Ankara."The KRG has been one of the most vocal supporters of Ankara's reconciliation process, which is currently on ice due to resistance by the PKK to lay down arms despite a call from its incarcerated leader, Abdullah Öcalan, in his annual Nevruz message for the PKK leadership to convene a congress to discuss abandoning weapons. The KRG's support for the protracted reconciliation process mostly stems from its genial relations with Ankara and also its reluctance to see the PKK in its territory.

Barzani's remarks came only days after Masrour Barzani, the chancellor of the KRG's Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) told the PKK to leave the Qandil Mountains.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, he said: "This is Iraqi territory and they must leave." He cited the region as belonging to the KRG and said the PKK, which ran afoul of Iraqi Kurds after demanding self-rule for the town of Sinjar, should withdraw from the mountains.

He said their reluctance to have the PKK in KRG territory is among the reasons they underpin Turkey's reconciliation process.