Syrian Kurds Welcome Turkey–PKK Peace Push, Urge Dialogue and Ocalan's Release

Syrian Kurds See Positive Impact From Turkey–PKK Peace Effort

Senior Kurdish officials in northeastern Syria say Turkey's recent peace initiative with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has had a "positive impact" and raised hopes for direct dialogue with Ankara. The PKK halted its four-decade armed campaign earlier this year at the urging of its imprisoned founder, Abdullah Ocalan, and has signalled a shift toward a democratic, political approach to advancing Kurdish rights in Turkey.

Elham Ahmad, a senior official in the Kurdish-led administration in Syria's northeast, told an Istanbul peace conference organised by Turkey's pro-Kurdish DEM party via video link that the Turkish peace process has resonated across the border. She urged open channels of communication and freer border movement between Kurdish communities on both sides.

"We want a dialogue process with Turkey, a dialogue that we understand as Kurds in Syria... We want the borders between us to be opened," Ahmad said, speaking in Kurdish.

Ahmad added that releasing Abdullah Ocalan would accelerate the process: "We believe that Abdullah Ocalan being released will let him play a much greater role... that this peace and resolution process will happen faster and better."

She also praised Ankara's cautious diplomacy toward Damascus amid recent shifts in regional politics, saying Turkey maintains engagement with the Syrian government while keeping channels open with Kurdish authorities in the northeast.

Regional Stakes and Unfinished Agreements

Turkey has long viewed the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) as linked to the PKK and has pressed for the SDF's integration into Syrian state military and security structures. Although a March agreement aimed at integrating the SDF into Syrian institutions was announced, its provisions were never implemented.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told the Doha Forum that Ankara recognises the domestic peace process with the Kurds cannot be separated from the Kurdish question in Syria, and he voiced hope that Ocalan could influence the SDF. "I believe he can play a role," Fidan said, recalling earlier contacts with PKK leaders during talks from 2009 to 2013 and warning that previous understandings collapsed in the past because of developments in Syria.

Ahmad argued that peace between Turkey and Kurdish groups—and a constructive approach to Syria—would have broader implications across the Middle East. She emphasised that Syria's Kurdish community favours coexistence, rejects partition, and seeks a peaceful, political path forward.

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