Türkiye is in talks with authorities in Baghdad and Irbil, the capital of the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), on how the PKK terrorists will hand over their weapons, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said following the terrorist group’s decision to disband.
“Talks are being held with our neighboring countries on how the weapons of terrorists outside our borders will be handed over. There are plans regarding how the Baghdad and Irbil administrations will take part in this process,” Erdoğan said, according to a transcript of remarks he made to journalists on his return flight from Albania overnight.
The PKK, which has waged a bloody terror campaign in Türkiye for more than four decades, has decided to disband and end its armed operations, group members and Turkish leaders said on Monday.
Erdoğan also said he hoped to obtain a definitive result from peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.
On Friday delegates from the warring countries met in Istanbul for their first face-to-face peace talks since March 2022, the month after Russia invaded its neighbor, but the sides failed to reach agreement on a ceasefire.
Erdoğan said that Türkiye was determined to continue its mediation role between its Black Sea neighbors Ukraine and Russia, adding that dialogue and negotiations should continue between the warring parties to achieve peace.
Turning to ties with the U.S., Erdoğan said he believed Washington’s CAATSA sanctions on the Turkish defense sector would soon be “overcome” thanks to U.S. President Donald Trump’s “more open, more constructive” approach.
Asked by journalists about the recent U.S. approval of the potential sale of missiles to Türkiye, Erdoğan said he could “easily say there is an easing on CAATSA”, referring to the ‘Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act’.
Erdoğan said he had discussed the matter with Trump and Washington’s new ambassador to Ankara.
“With my friend Trump taking office, we reached a more open, more constructive, more sincere communication,” he added.
On Israel’s relentless attacks on the Gaza Strip, which have killed at least 51,000 Palestinians since October 2023, Erdoğan said the battered enclave does “not have even a day to lose.”
“We express this on every platform. Israeli aggression in Gaza must be stopped,” he said.
Türkiye will continue using all means to increase pressure on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, Erdoğan said.