The 2025 PKK–Turkey peace process, also known as the Second Peace Process or the Second Solution Process, refers to the process in 2025 for resolution of the

Kurdistan Workers' Party insurgency From 1978 until 2025, the Republic of Turkey was in an armed conflict with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) ( Kurdish: ''Partiya Karkerên Kurdistanê'') as well as its allied insurgent groups, both Kurdish and non-Kurdish. The initial core d ...

. The process was seen as the successor of the failed

2013–2015 PKK–Turkey peace process The Solution process (), also known as Peace process (; ) or the PKK–Turkish peace process, was a peace process that aimed to resolve the conflict between Turkey and the PKK as part of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict (1978–2025). The conflic ...

Background

The first process was carried out between 2013 and 2015. Following the loss of the AKP's majority in the

June 2015 Turkish general election General elections were held in Turkey on 7 June 2015 to elect Member of Parliament#Turkey, 550 members to the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Grand National Assembly. This was the 24th general election in the History of the Republic of Turke ...

and the Ceylanpınar incident, the conflict started again. After this process, various political actors adopted different approaches to the Kurdish issue, but an official negotiation process was discarded. By 2024, amid regional shifts, a change in Turkey's domestic and foreign policy, the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

, as well as the increase of power of Kurdish autonomous areas in

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

and

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

began debates on a possible new solution process.

History

On October 22, 2024,

Devlet Bahçeli Devlet Bahçeli (born 1 January 1948) is a Turkish people, Turkish politician, economist, former Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey, deputy prime minister, and current chairman of the Far-right politics, far-right, Ultranationalism, ultranationa ...

, leader of the

Nationalist Movement Party The Nationalist Movement Party, or alternatively translated as Nationalist Action Party (, MHP), is a Turkish Far-right politics, far-right, ultranationalism, ultranationalist Political parties in Turkey, political party. The group is often de ...

(MHP), in a surprising change in tone, invited

Abdullah Öcalan Abdullah Öcalan ( ; ; born 4 April 1948 or 1949), also known as Apo (short for Abdullah in Turkish; Kurdish for "uncle"), is a founding member of the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Öcalan was based in Syria from 1979 to 1998. He ...

to speak in the

Turkish parliament The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( ), usually referred to simply as the GNAT or TBMM, also referred to as , in Turkish, is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Consti ...

and dissolve the

PKK The Kurdistan Workers' Party, or the PKK, isDespite the PKK's 12th Congress announcing plans for total organisational dissolution, the PKK has not yet been dissolved de facto or de jure. a Kurdish militant political organization and armed gue ...

. On November 26, Bahçeli renewed his invitation. the

Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party The Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (; , abbreviated as DEM Party) is a pro- Kurdish political party in Turkey. It is the legal successor of the Green Left Party and with the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) handing over its work to this ...

(DEM Party) applied to meet Öcalan in

İmralı prison İmralı prison is a high-security prison on the island of İmralı in the Sea of Marmara in Turkey. It holds prisoners from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and one prisoner of the Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist (TKP/ML). The pris ...

, which happened on December 28. On January 22, they visited a second time. On February 27, the DEM Party delegation visited Öcalan for a third time. Later on February 27, 2025, Öcalan ordered the PKK to convene a congress, disarm, and dissolve. On March 1, the

declared a unilateral ceasefire. The PKK also claimed that it would obey Öcalan's order and work on implementing it. On April 10, the DEM Party delegation met with Turkish President

Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (born 26 February 1954) is a Turkish politician who is the 12th and current president of Turkey since 2014. He previously served as the 25th prime minister of Turkey, prime minister from 2003 to 2014 as part of the Jus ...

. The meeting between the DEM Party delegation and Turkish Justice Minister

Yılmaz Tunç Yılmaz Tunç (born 1 February 1971) is a Turkish politician of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Minister of Justice in the Cabinet of Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Before he was several terms a member of the Grand National Assembly of Tu ...

, planned for April 18, was postponed to a later date due to the heart condition of the DEM Party İmralı delegation and Istanbul Deputy

Sırrı Süreyya Önder Sırrı Süreyya Önder (7 July 1962 – 3 May 2025) was a Turkish film director, actor, screenwriter, columnist and politician. Elected to parliament in 2011 as an independent backed by the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), he later joined the p ...

. On May 3, Sırrı Süreyya Önder died in the hospital. The PKK held its 12th congress between May 5 and 7, and announced four decisions, the end of the political and military conflict of the PKK against Turkey and the transition to a political and legal struggle, the stoppage of all PKK activities with the dissolution of the PKK, the stoppage of all military and political work of the PKK in Iraq, Iran, Syria, and Turkey, and the responsibility of the PKK Presidential Council for the fulfillment of the dissolution along with the formation of a joint committee for the delivery of weapons. Turkey had guaranteed the security of the congress and discussed agreements with Öcalan, who participated in the

congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...

by call. The result of the congress was sent to Öcalan for approval.

References

{{Kurdish–Turkish conflict Kurdish–Turkish peace process 2025 in Turkey History of the Kurdistan Workers' Party

Background

History

See also

References