By Micah Jonah ,January 20, 2026
Turkiye’s pro Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) has said the Turkish government now has no justification to delay a peace process with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) following a landmark agreement in Syria that integrates Kurdish forces into the central government’s control.
The statement follows a deal reached on Sunday in Syria, where the Kurdish led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) agreed to come under the authority of the government in Damascus, a move long demanded by Ankara as a condition for advancing peace efforts with the PKK.
Co leader of the DEM Party, Tuncer Bakirhan, said the Syrian agreement had removed what the Turkish government previously described as the biggest obstacle to negotiations. He stressed that the responsibility now lies with Ankara to take concrete and meaningful steps toward dialogue and reconciliation.
Bakirhan warned against any attempt to interpret reduced Kurdish territorial influence in Syria as a reason to abandon peace efforts inside Turkey, describing such thinking as a historic mistake that could further destabilize the region.
Turkish officials have said the Syrian integration deal, if fully implemented, could support progress in the more than year long process aimed at ending the decades long conflict with the PKK, which is based in northern Iraq. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for the swift integration of Kurdish fighters into Syria’s national armed forces.
The developments come amid shifting regional dynamics, as the United States has played a mediation role between Damascus and the SDF, while Turkey continues to position itself as a key external supporter of the Syrian government.
Observers say lasting stability in the region will depend not only on military arrangements but also on political inclusion, recognition of rights, and democratic reforms across borders.
