Imrali Delegation Meets Erdogan to Discuss Reviving Peace Process

ANKARA — In a rare and closely guarded meeting, senior representatives from Turkey’s Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) — also referred to as the Imrali Delegation — met with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday to discuss a potential revival of the stalled Kurdish peace process.

The delegation, composed of party co-chairs Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar, presented a series of proposals and strategic outlines aimed at initiating a new phase of dialogue between the Turkish government and Kurdish actors. According to a brief statement issued following the talks, both sides reaffirmed a “mutual commitment to advancing the peace process.”

The high-level meeting took place at the presidential complex in Ankara and was held behind closed doors. It was attended by several senior Turkish officials, including İbrahim Kalın, head of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), and Efkan Ala, deputy chair of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). 

The dialogue comes amid heightened speculation that the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), designated a terrorist organization by Ankara, Washington, and Brussels, may soon begin formally handing over a cache of weapons. According to regional reports, a disarmament ceremony had been scheduled to take place in the Raperin district of Sulaymaniyah province in Iraqi Kurdistan within days. 

However, in a sudden development on Tuesday, the Kurdistan Communities Union (KCK), widely seen as an umbrella group for the PKK and its affiliates, announced significant changes to the planned event. In a statement citing “changing security conditions,” the KCK canceled live media coverage and barred journalists from attending the ceremony in person. 

Instead, organizers will install a large screen near the site to display a recorded version of the event. “This will be the only means by which members of the press may witness and obtain information on the proceedings,” the KCK statement read. 

The Ankara meeting, which lasted about an hour, marks the first direct contact in years between Turkish leadership and representatives of the Kurdish political movement with links to Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed PKK leader imprisoned on Imrali Island. Previous peace efforts collapsed in 2015 amid escalating violence and political tension. 

While no formal roadmap has been released, the meeting signals a potential thaw in one of the region’s most enduring conflicts — a struggle that has claimed tens of thousands of lives over the past four decades.