Ocalan calls Syria clashes a blow to Turkey-PKK peace process

ISTANBUL,— Jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan said violence in Syria between government aligned Islamist forces and Kurdish forces of Syrian Kurdistan (Rojava) was an attempt to disrupt the Turkish peace process, Kurdish political representatives said after relaying his message from a meeting at Imrali prison.

A delegation from the Kurdish oriented DEM party said Ocalan believes the violence across the border is designed to weaken the ongoing peace process between Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers Party.

The delegation spoke after a visit to Ocalan at Imrali prison island near Istanbul, where he has been held since 1999.

The delegation said Ocalan remains committed to dialogue and to building what he described as a peaceful and democratic society. He urged all sides to take practical steps to keep negotiations on track, the group said, citing their prison meeting.

Ocalan has played a central role in contacts aimed at ending the decades long conflict between the Turkish state and the PKK.

Last year, he publicly called on the group to end its armed campaign and dissolve itself, a step that followed more than forty years of violence that left at least 40,000 people dead according to Turkey.

Earlier this month, the PKK issued its own statement warning that the clashes in Syria could put the ceasefire with Turkey at risk. The group said the developments were raising serious questions about whether calm could be maintained.

The fighting in northern Syria began after talks broke down over the future of Kurdish political and military structures in the country.

Negotiations had focused on incorporating the Kurdish led autonomous administration in Rojava Kurdistan and its forces into the new Syrian Islamist government that took power after the fall of Bashar al Assad in 2024.

Since then, Syrian army units have moved into large parts of the north following the withdrawal of Kurdish led Syrian Democratic Forces. Kurdish groups had exercised de facto self rule in those areas for more than a decade.

Turkey has repeatedly said Kurdish armed groups in Syria are linked to the PKK. Ankara has welcomed the Syrian military campaign, describing it as an effort to combat what it calls terrorist organizations, Turkish officials said.

(With files from AFP | Agencies)