KRG PM Barzani supports peace bid during HDP delegation visit

ARBIL – Anadolu Agency

AA Photo

Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani has voiced his support for Turkey’s ongoing Kurdish peace process, speaking after a meeting with a visiting delegation from the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in Arbil on March 30.

“We have supported peace and its process since the beginning and we are ready to do our part,” Barzani said.

The delegation from Turkey meeting Barzani included HDP lawmaker deputy Sırrı Süreyya Önder and independent deputy Leyla Zana, a leading figure in the Kurdish political movement.

Zana conveyed a recent message from jailed PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, in which he called on the group to convene a congress to end the 40-year armed conflict.

Zana also said Öcalan was “closely monitoring and appreciating” the efforts and support of the Iraqi Kurdish prime minister.

“Öcalan welcomes Barzani’s efforts for peace and the solution process,” Zana said.

The delegation is expected to deliver a message from Öcalan to the Kurdistan Community Union (KCK), an umbrella organization for the PKK, after meeting KRG President Massoud Barzani.

The Turkish government launched the peace process in 2013 in a bid to end a conflict that has claimed 40,000 lives over the past four decades. The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU.