Turkey
Erdogan's meeting with DEM Party delegation in Ankara on February 12, 2026. Photo: Turkish presidency
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party’s (DEM Party) delegation that visited the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Wednesday says the meeting was “important.”
The DEM Party delegation, which consisted of Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar, were received by Erdogan on Wednesday. This came nearly a month after the same delegation, which acts as main mediators of a new peace process between Ankara and the now-dissolved Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), also visited the jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in prison.
The delegation said in a statement on Thursday that the meeting was “important,” adding that they “consulted” with Erdogan on the developments in the region and their impact on the peace process.
“During the meeting, the shared will to continue the process with determination was reaffirmed. It was stated that the Turkish parliament, the relevant ministries, and public institutions need to intensify their efforts to take concrete and reassuring steps regarding the ongoing process,” read the statement.
They also emphasized on “the necessity of preparing the report of the National Solidarity, Brotherhood, and Democracy Committee with an inclusive approach, providing a solid foundation for democratization and freedoms,” it added, referring to a parliamentary committee tasked with drafting a legal framework for the peace process.
The committee has held numerous meetings with relevant parties, including Ocalan, but has yet to submit their final report.
“It was stressed that it is important for the legal framework, encompassing all segments of society and forming the basis for Turkey’s democratic future, to be established without delay and with the broadest possible consensus,” the mediators said.
Ocalan made a historic call in February for the PKK to disarm, followed by a unilateral ceasefire by the group. In mid-July, 30 PKK fighters held a symbolic disarmament ceremony in the Kurdistan Region as a gesture of goodwill and commitment to peace. PKK has also taken other steps to serve the process but it has blamed Ankara for failing to take any concrete steps.
The DEM Party and PKK call the process “Peace and Democratic Society” while Ankara calls it “Terror Free Turkey.”
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