ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iraqi National Security Advisor Qassim al-Araji on Wednesday said that Baghdad wants the withdrawal of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Turkish army from the country’s territories, once the peace deal between the two sides has been finalized.

"We don't want either the PKK or the Turkish army on our land,” Araji told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Wednesday. “Iraq wants everyone to withdraw.”

Araji’s comments come days after jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan called on the group’s fighters to disarm and end their armed struggle against the Turkish state. Turkey has long justified its military operations in Iraq by citing the presence of PKK fighters in the country’s northern Kurdistan Region.

“Turkey has said more than once that it has no territorial ambitions in Iraq,” Araji added.

Following Ocalan’s call, Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), who has been one of the main proponents of the peace talks between the PKK and Ankara in recent months, announced that they will be holding meetings with the country’s political parties in the coming days to discuss upcoming steps.

The party announced that their first meeting will be with the Republican People’s Party (CHP), the main opposition party in Turkey, on Monday. DEM Party’s meetings will reportedly also include the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the far-right Turkish Nationalist Movement Party (MHP).

Millions across Turkey – Turks and Kurds alike - are now once again looking ahead with renewed hope that a perpetual solution will be found to permanently resolve the conflict that has spanned decades and claimed tens of thousands of lives.

Headquartered in the Kurdistan Region’s Mount Qandil, the PKK is an armed group that has fought for increased Kurdish rights in Turkey for decades. The group is designated a terrorist organization by Ankara, Europe, and the US.

Turkish forces have established military positions deep inside Iraqi territory, particularly in Duhok province, where operations have caused civilian casualties, destroyed farmland, and resulted in the establishment of multiple military bases in border villages.