ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - President Masoud Barzani on Saturday praised peace efforts between Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), stressing the need for continued dialogue as the region goes through a “sensitive” phase.

Turkey’s pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), the main mediator between the PKK and the Turkish state, is holding the International Conference on Peace and Democratic Society in Istanbul. The event began Saturday and is expected to run for two days.

Several local and regional leaders participated and delivered speeches during the first day of the conference, including a letter by President Barzani read out by Amina Zikri, a politburo member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).

“Our region and the entire world is going through a sensitive phase. All signs indicate a new beginning, which may be full of obstacles, or may be full of new opportunities for peace, security, and a dignified, prosperous, and peaceful life for the peoples of the region,” Barzani said.

Barzani lauded Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, and all those that have made efforts toward the ongoing peace process, expressing his willingness to support “any effort that serves the peace process and strengthens brotherhood and coexistence of the peoples of our region”

He urged all parties to learn from past mistakes and handle the current developments and challenges “with a new breath, a clear vision, and full of faith and hope.”

“Dialogue and understanding are always better than war and complications, and in dialogue and peace, humanity benefits,” he added, warning against repeating past mistakes.

The peace process in Turkey was initiated in October 2024 by Devlet Behceli, leader of Turkey’s far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), who urged Ocalan to address the Turkish parliament and call on his group to disarm.

The PKK held a congress in May wherein the group decided to dissolve and disband upon the call of Ocalan. The group has since then taken two significant steps: Laying down the arms of some of its commanders in a historic ceremony, and announcing their withdrawal from Turkish territory.

A letter from Ocalan was also read out during the conference, in which the PKK leader said that the group had "fulfilled its historical mission by ensuring the national existence of the Kurdish people,” stressing the importance of rebuilding society on a democratic basis to create “a lasting foundation for peace.”

“The relationship of democratic socialism with the state is being reshaped in the process of peace and resolution. I define my relationship with the state as a relationship of democratization,” Ocalan said.

“In the understanding of a democratic republic, the state does not act as a divine force over society, but rather works with society within the framework of a democratic contract. With a democratic political strategy, it is possible to bring about change and transformation within the state and rebuild society on a democratic basis,” he continued.

Ocalan has been imprisoned on Imrali island since 1999.

A Turkish parliamentary commission tasked with drafting a legal framework for the peace process in late November marked their first visit to Ocalan on Imrali island, later asserting that “positive outcomes” had been reached.

The commission’s work will remain confidential for the next decade.