PKK disbandment now paves the way for US and Turkiye to improve relations: Analysis

PKK disbandment now paves the way for US and Turkiye to improve relations: Analysis

May 12, 2025  
The Kurdistan Workers' Party, known as the PKK, has announced its decision to disband and disarm as part of a peace initiative with Turkiye.

The announcement ends four decades of armed struggle against the Turkish government.

A Kurdish armed group, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party was founded in 1978 by Abdullah Ocalan.

In 1984, it launched an armed insurgency against Turkiye, seeking independence but later pushed for Kurdish rights and autonomy. More than 40,000 people have since been killed in the conflict.

The PKK operates from mountain strongholds in northern Iraq. Türkiye regularly strikes its bases, despite Iraq saying the attacks violate its sovereignty.

It is also linked to YPG fighters in Syria, a key US ally against ISIL. This has created tension between Turkiye and the US, as Ankara sees the YPG as part of the PKK.

Turkiye, the United States and the European Union classify the PKK as a terrorist organization, while its supporters call it a resistance movement.

Matthew Bryza is a former US diplomat. He says the PKK announcement, while historic, was somewhat expected, but now paves the way for a smoothing over in US-Turkiye relations.