A Turning Point for Türkiye and the Region? Öcalan Calls for the PKK’s Dissolution

In a February 27, 2025 statement that could have far-reaching implications for Türkiye, the Levant, and beyond, Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the PKK—a designated terrorist organization that has waged a separatist insurgency against Türkiye for over four decades—called for his party to be dissolved.

In his statement, read in Kurdish, Turkish, and English by representatives of the pro-Kurdish DEM Party at a press conference, Öcalan declared that the historical conditions justifying the PKK’s existence had fundamentally changed. He called on all PKK-affiliated groups to lay down their weapons and dissolve themselves. The Brussels-based Kurdish National Congress (KNK) welcomed the announcement, while Salih Müslim, co-chair of Syria’s Democratic Union Party (PYD), indicated that his party would follow the PKK’s senior leadership in Qandil, Iraq. However, Mazlum Kobani, commander of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), clarified that Öcalan’s directive does not apply to his organization.

If implemented, Öcalan’s call could lead to the formal dissolution of the PKK and its affiliates in Türkiye and neighboring countries. The SDF’s stance does not necessarily contradict this trajectory. While its core leadership and most of its fighters are affiliated with the PKK, the SDF has never publicly acknowledged a connection to the organization. Türkiye may ultimately tolerate the SDF’s continued existence—provided the PKK is dismantled, its members disengaged from the SDF, and a modus vivendi is reached between the new regime in Damascus and the SDF. These developments could also facilitate a US withdrawal from Syria, a longstanding objective of US President Donald Trump.

Öcalan’s statement, if translated into concrete action, would be a major positive development not only for Türkiye but also for Syria, Iraq, and the Kurdistan Regional Government. The dissolution of the PKK would also significantly improve Türkiye’s relations with Europe and the United States. Türkiye has long expressed concerns over the PKK’s active presence in certain European countries, a key factor in its nearly two-year delay of Sweden’s NATO membership. Meanwhile, US cooperation with the SDF in Syria remains a contentious issue due to the PKK’s deep ties to the group. If and when the PKK disbands, these geopolitical tensions may become easier to address.

While this development is not part of a broader democratization effort in Türkiye and does not address the Kurdish question in a political or institutional sense, addressing the Kurdish question politically would become more feasible in the absence of a terrorist insurgency. However, there is no guarantee that Öcalan’s statement will translate into concrete action, given the PKK’s complex structure and the diverse set of stakeholders it has developed over time.