Iran, Azerbaijan and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) hailed the decision of dissolution taken by the PKK terrorist group on Monday. The move, part of the terror-free Türkiye initiative launched by government ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, ends decades of violence that killed thousands in Türkiye and cost billions of Turkish liras in counterterrorism efforts.
Iran's Foreign Ministry on Tuesday welcomed the PKK’s move and called it "an important step towards rejecting violence and strengthening security.”
"We hope that the completion of this process will lead to the promotion of stability and peace in Türkiye and the region," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said in a statement.
Iran itself suffered from PKK violence in the form of the PJAK, an offshoot of the group that was active in a predominantly Kurdish region of the country. After a string of attacks and clashes with the security forces of Iran that began in 2004, the PJAK violence has been sporadic. The PJAK joined the PKK’s statement as one of several offshoots of the group and said in a separate statement that it was time to transition to a political and legal stage in their “struggle.”
Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev congratulated Türkiye on Tuesday on the success of the terror-free initiative. Speaking at a meeting with visiting Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, Aliyev said the political will demonstrated by his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the strength of the Turkish state, the counterterrorism efforts of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), and the unity of the Turkish nation played a decisive role in the PKK’s move to dissolve itself. He said it was a historic development and essential for the peace of Türkiye and the region's people.
Ersin Tatar, president of the TRNC, hailed the move and said in a written statement that he hoped that the terror-free Türkiye initiative would lead to a process where peace would prevail in the region, along with ending the tears of mothers. Tatar said people of the TRNC cheered the current stage of terror-free Türkiye that proceeded with President Erdoğan’s visionary leadership, courage and the sacrifice of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli.
