ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – The delegation from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) mediating the peace process between Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has reached a “mutual understanding” with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on next steps to advance the talks more quickly, the party said Thursday.

DEM Party’s Imrali delegation on Thursday met with Erdogan at the Presidential Complex, discussing the status of the ongoing peace talks. It is the third time the delegation has met with the Turkish leader since the peace process began in October 2024.

“During the meeting, we made comprehensive assessments of the current stage of the Peace and Democratic Society Process and the necessary next steps,” party officials Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar said in a statement on Thursday.

The party stated that the two sides have reached “mutual understanding and consensus” on steps to advance the peace process “more quickly and effectively.”

Efkan Ala, chair of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), and National Intelligence Organization (MIT) Director Ibrahim Kalin were also present at the Thursday meeting.

The Imrali delegation, which has frequently visited detained PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan on Imrali Island over the past year, previously met with Erdogan in April and July.

On Thursday, the Turkish parliamentary commission tasked with drafting a legal framework for the peace process between Ankara and the PKK said it will submit a proposal to the assembly outlining the next steps of the process.

The PKK on Sunday issued a historic statement, declaring the withdrawal of “all guerrilla forces in Turkey” to the Medya Defense Areas in the Kurdistan Region, where the group’s headquarters in Qandil Mountain is located.

A day after the Kurdish group announced the withdrawal of its forces from Turkey, DEM Party said the first phase of the peace process between Ankara and the PKK had been completed. 

Devlet Bahceli, the leader of Turkey’s far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), initiated the renewed peace process in October last year by urging Ocalan to address the Turkish parliament and call on his group to disarm.

Ocalan and the DEM Party have repeatedly expressed concern over the lack of concrete measures to establish a political framework ensuring the success of the peace process. On Sunday, a senior PKK commander urged Turkey to release Ocalan, who has been imprisoned on Imrali Island since 1999.