ANKARA: A Turkish parliamentary delegation held talks Monday with Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of a Kurdish militant group, as part of an ongoing peace initiative to end a decades-long conflict.
The rare meeting with Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, centered on the militant group’s decision earlier this year to disband and lay down arms. It also addressed the implementation of an agreement that envisioned integrating Kurdish forces into a new Syrian army, according to a statement from the Turkish Grand National Assembly.
The PKK, designated a terrorist organization by Turkiye, the United States and the European Union, has waged an armed insurgency against the Turkish government since 1984. It initially sought an independent Kurdish state, later shifting to demands for autonomy and expanded rights within Turkiye. The conflict has spilled into neighboring Iraq and Syria.
The implementation of the March 10 agreement between Syria’s government and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, or SDF, has largely stalled.
Turkiye views the SDF as being closely linked to the PKK. It has been pressing for the execution of the deal, driven by concerns that the Syrian Kurdish fighters could retain autonomy in Syria and continue to pose security risks along its border.
“The meeting concluded with positive outcomes aimed at strengthening social cohesion, brotherhood, and advancing the process from a regional perspective,” Monday’s statement read, adding that the delegation had gathered “detailed declarations” from Ocalan during the talks.
Media reports said the meeting between Ocalan and three legislators on the prison island of Imrali, near Istanbul, lasted for five hours.
Ocalan, who has been imprisoned since 1999, remains an influential figure among Kurds and is seen as key in advancing the peace process aimed at ending the insurgency.
The PKK announced in May that it would disarm and disband, ending four decades of hostilities, heeding a call by Ocalan.
The group later held a symbolic disarmament ceremony in northern Iraq, where fighters began laying down their weapons, and announced last month that it was withdrawing its remaining forces from Turkiye to Iraq.
Previous peace efforts between Turkiye and the PKK collapsed, most recently in 2015.
Turkish delegation holds rare peace talks with jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan
https://arab.news/w5s42
Turkish delegation holds rare peace talks with jailed Kurdish leader Abdullah Ocalan
- The rare meeting with Ocalan, the leader of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, centered on the militant group’s decision earlier this year to disband and lay down arms
Syria’s growth accelerates as sanctions ease, refugees return
- Economy grows much faster than World Bank’s 1% estimate, fueling plans for currency’s relaunch
NEW YORK: Syria’s economy is growing much faster than the World Bank’s 1 percent estimate for 2025 as refugees flow back after the end of a 14-year civil war, fueling plans for the relaunch of the country’s currency and efforts to build a new Middle East financial hub, central bank Governor AbdulKader Husrieh has said.
Speaking via video link at a conference in New York, Husrieh also said he welcomed a deal with Visa to establish digital payment systems and added that the country is working with the International Monetary Fund to develop methods to accurately measure economic data to reflect the resurgence.
The Syrian central bank chief, who is helping guide the war-torn country’s reintegration into the global economy after the fall of Bashar Assad’s regime about a year ago, described the repeal of many US sanctions against Syria as “a miracle.”
The US Treasury on Nov. 10 announced a 180-day extension of the suspension of the so-called Caesar sanctions against Syria; lifting them entirely requires approval by the US Congress.
Husrieh said that based on discussions with US lawmakers, he expects the sanctions to be repealed by the end of 2025, ending “the last episode of the sanctions.”
“Once this happens, this will give comfort to our potential correspondent banks about dealing with Syria,” he said.
Husrieh also said that Syria was working to revamp regulations aimed at combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism, which he said would provide further assurances to international lenders.
Syria’s central bank has recently organized workshops with banks from the US, Turkiye, Jordan and Australia to discuss due diligence in reviewing transactions, he added.
Husrieh said that Syria is preparing to launch a new currency in eight note denominations and confirmed plans to remove two zeroes from them in a bid to restore confidence in the battered pound.
“The new currency will be a signal and symbol for this financial liberation,” Husrieh said. “We are glad that we are working with Visa and Mastercard,” Husrieh said.
