Turkey's peace process with Kurdish militants has stalled since the Iran war broke out in early May 2026, deepening instability in the Middle East. Both the Erdogan government and the PKK have refused to take bold steps toward peace amid the regional turmoil [1, 2].
Turkey's parliament had made peace process recommendations just two weeks before the Iran conflict began, approving in February 2026 a report calling for legal reforms tied to the PKK peace process [1, 3]. However, the outbreak of war has abruptly disrupted negotiations, and no new legislation has advanced.
The PKK, considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and EU, announced its dissolution and a ceasefire in 2025. It symbolically burned weapons in northern Iraq in July 2025 after its imprisoned founder Abdullah Ocalan called for disarmament in February 2025 [3]. More than 40,000 people have died in the Turkey-PKK conflict since the insurgency began in 1984.
Turkey insists on full PKK disarmament before granting legislative reforms or amnesty. Senior PKK officer Murat Karayilan called it "irrational" to lay down arms without legal guarantees, noting war "drones and missiles are flying overhead" [1]. Pro-Kurdish lawmaker Gulistan Kilic Kocyigit said the peace process is paused but not halted, criticizing the government for demanding full disarmament now as "unrealistic" and lacking reasons for delaying reforms [1].
The Iran war has worsened instability. Turkey warned of risks from Kurdish mobilizations in Iran and Iraq and helped quash a brief U.S.-Israeli plan to support a Kurdish ground invasion of Iran in mid-May 2026 [1, 2].
The new regional conflict has hardened positions on both sides, with neither Turkey nor the PKK willing to make concessions while regional hostilities persist. Turkey's parliament continues to hold recommendations on reforms related to the peace process, but no timeline has been published for their implementation.
Key past milestones include the initiation of peace talks in October 2024, visits by pro-Kurdish lawmakers to Ocalan in prison in December 2024, and the PKK's ceasefire declaration in February 2025. The outbreak of the Iran war in May 2026 marked a sharp halt in progress. With regional instability ongoing, the peace process remains frozen without new parliamentary or militant movement [1, 3, 2].
