The PKK’s decision to dissolve itself and lay down arms after decades of terrorism against Türkiye will boost regional stability, the president of Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Nechirvan Barzani said on Monday.
The PKK decision "demonstrates political maturity and paves the way for a dialogue that promotes coexistence and stability in Türkiye and the region," Barzani said in a statement.
It "lays the foundation for a lasting peace that would end decades of violence, pain and suffering," he added.
He said that Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region is ready to support efforts to guarantee the success of "this historic opportunity."
The Barzani family is a crucial powerbroker in Kurdish affairs and has close ties with Türkiye.
The PKK announced on Monday its dissolution, saying it was ending its armed struggle against Türkiye and drawing a line under its deadly four-decade insurgency.
The historic announcement came after an appeal by the group's founder Abdullah Öcalan, who on Feb. 27 urged the PKK to disarm and disband in a letter from Istanbul's Imralı prison island, where he has been held since 1999.
Blacklisted as a terrorist organisation by Türkiye and its Western allies, the PKK operates rear bases in Iraq's Kurdistan region, where Türkiye also maintains military bases and often carries out air and ground operations against the terrorist group.
