Kurdistan Region president says PKK’s decision boosts regional stability

ERBIL – The president of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, welcomed Monday the Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s decision to disband and end its armed struggle against Turkey, saying it would strengthen regional stability.

The Kurdistan Workers’ Party, better known by its Kurdish acronym the PKK, on Monday declared its dissolution, stating it was halting its armed conflict with the Turkish state.

The PKK decision “demonstrates political maturity and paves the way for a dialogue that promotes coexistence and stability in Turkey and the region”, Barzani said in a statement, adding that it “lays the foundation for a lasting peace that would end decades of violence, pain and suffering”.

The decision comes around two months after the PKK announced a ceasefire with Turkey following a call by jailed PKK founder and leader Abdullah Ocalan to disband and end its armed campaign of more than 40 years.

On Feb. 27, Ocalan urged his militant group to dissolve and his fighters to lay down their weapons.