ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The Kurdistan Workers’ Party’s (PKK) jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan has expressed his wishes to meet with Kurdish leaders from other parts of Kurdistan, including President Masoud Barzani, according to Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), which has played a major role in the ongoing peace process between the PKK and Ankara.

Aysegul Dogan, spokesperson for the DEM Party, said on Wednesday that the party plans to send a delegation to Imrali prison—where Ocalan is held—as soon as possible to meet and consult with the PKK leader, adding that it is “highly probable” that Ocalan will meet with representatives of different political parties “in the coming days.”

The spokesperson stated that they believe that it would be “beneficial” for Ocalan to meet with Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader and former Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani, current Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani, Commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Mazloum Abdi, Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Bafel Talabani and his brother Qubad Talabani, the Region’s deputy prime minister and senior PUK member.

“We also know that he wants to have these meetings… This is Mr. Ocalan’s wish, and we think it will be beneficial. It is very valuable for him to come together with leaders and important figures from different political parties. It is also necessary for the upcoming process,” Dogan noted.

Last month, the PKK announced its decision to dissolve and disband, bringing an end to an insurgency that lasted over four decades, following months of negotiations.

The PKK’s announcement came after a February call from Ocalan, who urged the party to lay down arms and disband, asserting that it was time for the Kurdish struggle to transition to a dialogue-based, democratic, and political arena.

Turkish authorities have recently shown more leniency toward Ocalan as the country navigates a complicated peace process with its longtime foe. The PKK leader was visited in Imrali prison by members of his family —some of whom he has not met since his imprisonment in 1999— on the occasion of the Eid al-Adha on Saturday.