Turkiye’s Former Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in an interview with Kurdistan Chronicle on the sidelines of the Fifth Middle East Peace and Security (MEPS) Forum on Friday that he hopes that one day President Masoud Barzani will come back to Turkiye to lend support to a new peace process in Turkiye.
“We should work for that. We can come to Erbil, and he can come to Diyarbakir. There is no difference.”
Currently, there are renewed discussions in Turkiye about initiating a new peace process between Turkiye and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, sparked by a call from Devlet Bahceli, leader of the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), for PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan to address the Turkish parliament and declare the end of the PKK.
Between 2009 and 2015, a previous peace process between Turkiye and the PKK was supported by Kurdish leaders in the Kurdistan Region.
On November 16, 2013, President Barzani voiced strong support for Turkiye’s peace efforts during a joint rally with then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Diyarbakir and Kurdish singers Ibrahim Tatlises and Sivan Perwer, urging Kurds and Turks alike to back the peace initiative.
Answering a question from Kurdistan Chronicle reporter Wladimir van Wilgenburg during MEPS Forum, Davutoglu said he used to be one of the champions of the peace process in 2013, when he was still prime minister. Currently, he is the head of the Future Party.
“I made several speeches in Anatolia, and Kurdish people in Turkiye called me serok (leader) Ahmet,” he said, adding that Turkish nationalists like Bahceli criticized him because of this title. “Why should I be denying it? The Kurdish language is a foreign language.”
“My language, Turkish, is a respected language, and Feqiye Teyran’s Kurdish is as respected as Turkish, and this is how we should approach this.”
Moreover, he said he supported MHP-leader Bahceli, although he disagreed with him over the Kurdish language. “I urged President Erdogan to support this. The Kurdistan Region has a vital role in this. Therefore, my visit to the Kurdistan Region now is very critical and important. I will be having meetings with all of my colleagues here.”
He also said the Kurdistan Region has problems with the PKK.
“There is a cultural connection between Kurdish citizens in Turkiye and the Kurdistan Region. There will be equality in Turkiye between Turks and Kurds and others. And there will be an excellent relation between Turkiye and Kurdistan through economic integration, as well as between Turkiye and Iraq.”
During MEPS, President Barzani said in his speech that the Iraqi Kurds are “pleased to see discussions about a renewed peace process in Turkiye. We fully support any initiative for peace and stability and will stand with those efforts.
President Barzani also separately met with former Prime Minister Davutoglu on the sidelines of MEPS and discussed the “dangers of terrorism, and ways to improve the peace and security process and maintain stability in the region.”
Moreover, Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid also expressed support for a new solution process in Turkiye.
“We welcome any efforts aimed at achieving a peaceful resolution to the Kurdish issue within Turkiye and fully support endeavors in this direction,” he said.
“Globally, we need a charter for reviving peace in the Middle East, recognizing the historical rights of peoples and their right to self-determination.”
Read More: Kurdistan Region President to Meet Turkish Counterpart in Ankara
On October 30, 2024, Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, during a panel at the MERI Forum in Erbil, stated that the Kurdistan Region has been actively engaged in promoting the Turkiye-PKK peace process since 2011.
“We welcome the prospect of a peace process commencing in Turkiye,” he said.
“During my recent visit to Turkiye, we articulated our perspectives on this issue and are encouraged that any initiation of the process should not only benefit Turkiye, but also provide support to the broader region.”
Moreover, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani on Sunday welcomed former Prime Minister of Turkiye and leader of the Future Party Ahmet Davutoglu.
“They discussed relations between the Kurdistan Region and Turkiye, and the situation in Iraq and the region,” the KRG readout said of the meeting.
“Davutoglu highlighted the important role of the Kurdistan Region. Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to advancing bilateral ties.”
Prime Minister @masrourbarzani meets with @Ahmet_Davutoglu.https://t.co/muuYrmXp9i
— Kurdistan Regional Government (@Kurdistan) November 24, 2024
At the Fifth MEPS Forum, Prime Minister Barzani underlined that the Kurdistan Region has good economic and trade relations with Turkiye.
“We have a good understanding of the security situation in the region. We are encouraged that Turkiye is seeking peaceful ways to resolve the issues in the region. For this reason, I can describe our relations with Turkiye as good.”
