ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Turkey’s foreign ministry and ruling party on Wednesday responded to a statement made by the office of President Masoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which condemned far-right leader Devlet Bahceli’s remarks against Kurdish forces accompanying Barzani in a recent visit. 

On Tuesday, Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Bahceli criticized the presence of Kurdish counterterrorism forces accompanying Barzani during a Saturday visit to Kurdish-majority southeast Turkey as a “disgrace,” calling it a deliberate attack on the “dignity, prestige, historical reputation, and sovereign character of the Republic of Turkey.”

In response, President Barzani’s office condemned Bahceli’s remarks as “chauvinistic,” saying they “contradicted all norms and served nobody’s interests” and that Barzani’s security detail was present “based on a protocol agreement between the relevant institutions in the Kurdistan Region and Turkey.” 

Turkey’s foreign ministry responded on Wednesday, saying the response from Barzani’s office was “unacceptable” and calling on the KDP “to provide clarification.” 

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also said that Ankara “expressed discomfort with the matter and demanded an explanation.” 

Omer Celik, spokesperson of Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), announced that an investigation was launched into the presence of President Barzani’s security detail, praising the Kurdish leader for his contribution to the peace process between Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). 

In the Tuesday statement, President Barzani’s office explained that high-ranking Turkish officials are always “accompanied by Turkish special forces units without any problems.” 

President Barzani’s visit to the Cizre district of Turkey’s Kurdish province of Sirnak was to deliver remarks at the fourth International Mullah al-Jaziri Symposium. The event focused on the life, works, and ethnics of the Kurdish poet and philosopher Sheikh Ahmad al-Jaziri.

President Barzani has been a key supporter of the Ankara-PKK peace process. During his visit on Saturday, he praised the efforts and reaffirmed his readiness to help advance the initiative.

PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan made a historic call from prison in February, which was subsequently followed by the PKK announcing its intention to lay down its arms and dissolve in May. 

In July, dozens of PKK fighters burned their weapons in a symbolic disarmament ceremony in the Kurdistan Region’s Sulaimani province, and earlier this month, the group announced it would completely withdraw from Turkish soil.