President Barzani emerges as a pivotal figure in Turkey’s renewed peace efforts, engaging with Kurdish and Turkish leaders to mediate a resolution.
“Ocalan and the Turkish government value Barzani’s influence, recognizing that Barzani’s impact on Northern Kurdistan and Turkey is significant. Erdoğan sees Barzani as a great leader.”
President Barzani plays an important and influential role in the peace process in Turkey and has taken significant initiatives. Despite various obstacles and barriers, ultimately both Imrali and Turkey have turned to President Barzani.
On Sunday, February 16, 2025, the DEM Party delegation to Imrali arrived at Barzani’s headquarters and met with President Massoud Barzani regarding the new peace process in Turkey and Northern Kurdistan. The DEM Party delegation, consisting of Pervin Buldan and Sirri Sureyya Onder, arrived in Erbil on February 15, 2025, and held several meetings with Kurdistan Regional officials.
Seri Bland, where Barzani’s headquarters is located, has become a center for important political decisions in the region. In the past two weeks, important decisions and initiatives have been made there for the region, especially after President Barzani met with Mazloum Abdi, Commander-in-Chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). At President Barzani’s suggestion, the Kurdish forces in Western Kurdistan (Rojava) are set to go to Damascus as a single package with one delegation and a set of demands. The meeting involved delivering Ocalan’s delegation to President Barzani and getting his views on the peace process, and President Barzani’s message will be delivered to Imrali.
Pervin Buldan, member of the DEM Party delegation to Imrali, stated regarding their visit to the Kurdistan Region: “In the meetings, we discuss information about the new peace process. After meeting with Ocalan twice, he informed us that meeting with President Barzani and getting his views on the process is very important.”
The DEM Party delegation member to Imrali Prison also mentioned, “In our meeting with President Barzani, we take his views, thinking, and comprehensive proposals about the process and will later convey them to Ocalan.”
Dr. Irfan Aziz, an expert in national security, told The Kurdish Globe: “The Imrali delegation visited President Barzani. This delegation is the same one that visited Imrali and met twice with the imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan. As seen, Ocalan’s message was delivered to President Barzani, and President Barzani’s message is set to be delivered to him. The arrival of this delegation at this time is very important because significant changes have occurred in the Middle East, particularly with the fall of Bashar al-Assad and the remaining YPG forces in Western Kurdistan without support, and the policy of removing trustees in Northern Kurdistan and tensions between Turkey and the PKK. Therefore, to calm the situation, both Turkey and the PKK found it important to return to President Barzani’s views, who initiated peace in 2013, but unfortunately, after several attempts, that initiative could not be implemented. Now both sides have returned to it.”
He also said: “Ocalan chose the right path, which is President Barzani, who is listened to by Turkey and who holds patriotic views and decisions in the region and has supporters in all four parts of Kurdistan. Therefore, I believe before Ocalan’s message is delivered to Turkish authorities or opposition, it’s important to deliver it to President Barzani because, without internal Kurdish consensus, it’s difficult for any process to succeed at the Turkish level. Additionally, this delegation’s arrival today to President Barzani brings Barzani’s initiative back to Imrali, which was also why Ocalan didn’t release his message until knowing President Barzani’s view.”
He added: “The Kurdistan Region is an active non-state entity in the region. At the global level, Kurdish leadership is listened to. President Barzani holds the key to peace and resolving the Kurdish issue without weapons. Moreover, President Barzani has many supporters in Northern Kurdistan and is viewed as a reference point for all Kurdish people. At the time in Amed, he received a historic welcome in 2013, and there the peace process began. In a speech there, he called for the Kurdish issue to be resolved peacefully, and this message from Ocalan to President Barzani is an important step in advancing the national reconciliation process peacefully.”
Dr. Irfan also revealed: “Previously, other delegations visited President Barzani, such as Leyla Zana and Selahattin Demirtaş, who asked President Barzani to play an important role in the peace process in Turkey. Now that he has taken the initiative to unite Syrian Kurds, this is also important at a time when he has a role both in Syria and Turkey to ensure Kurds emerge from the changes with minimal losses.”
Regarding this matter, Karzan Gilly, an expert on Turkish affairs, told The Kurdish Globe: “This delegation is the same one that visited Imrali and met twice with Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned PKK leader. They are delivering Ocalan’s message to Barzani and discussing several other issues. The arrival of this delegation has unique importance because they are visiting Barzani at a time when the Kurdish situation in Western Kurdistan and the North is poor. In the West, Turkey poses a serious threat to the YPG and labels it as a terrorist group, while in the North, the trustee policy continues. However, opening the door to Imrali and efforts to resolve the Kurdish issue in Turkey requires several great minds that can be beneficial.”
He also said: “First, Ocalan sent a message to the Turkish opposition, asking them to support the peace issue. The DEM Party delegation visited all opposition parties and delivered Ocalan’s message to them. Then the meetings expanded because the issue is serious, and Ocalan doesn’t want to come out empty-handed this time.”
Gilly added: “According to political analysts, President Barzani, as an experienced and respected leader in the region, has a supreme role in resolving the Kurdish issue in Syria and Turkey. Therefore, knocking on Barzani’s door takes the Kurdish issue several steps forward. Because the Kurdistan Region is a legitimate entity, it is viewed as a center for Kurdish issues in all four parts of Kurdistan.”
He further elaborated: “Mazloum Abdi’s visit to President Barzani was to benefit from the President’s wisdom and have his role in strengthening the Kurdish position in Western Kurdistan (Rojava). Turkey also prefers Barzani to play a mediating role so they can resolve the Kurdish issue in Western Kurdistan without war. The purpose of the DEM Party delegation’s visit to President Barzani shows Ocalan’s, the Turkish government, and DEM Party’s appreciation for Barzani’s wisdom because Barzani’s influence over the Kurds in the North and Turkey is significant. Moreover, Turkish leaders, especially Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, view Barzani as a great leader and have always given him special consideration. Therefore, in the 2013 resolution process, it was important to them that Barzani had a role, which is why they gave him a grand reception in Amed where President Barzani spoke about the importance of resolving the Kurdish issue and called for the Kurdish issue to move peacefully toward a final resolution.”
The Turkish affairs expert added: “At this time, Kurdish unity is very important, and they must go to the negotiating table with one discourse in both the West and Northern Kurdistan. Therefore, when Ocalan sends a message to President Barzani, he knows that as a national leader, his important role will advance the Kurdish issue. Previously, Selahattin Demirtaş, former co-chair of HDP, spoke about the importance of Barzani’s role and asked him not to abandon the National Congress. Therefore, Pirmam becomes the key that opens the door to resolving the Kurdish issue in Turkey and Syria. Here, Barzani’s role is important in being able to bring together the Kurds of the North and West at the negotiating table and make serious efforts to ensure that Kurds don’t come out empty-handed from the changes happening in the region.”
The Kurdish Globe