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Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni called on the PKK, its Iran-based offshoot PJAK, and all their branches to "cease to exist" and lay down their weapons, speaking alongside Turkish Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci in Ankara.
"I congratulate you on reaching a political solution with the PKK. We support it. Türkiye, Iraq, Iran and Syria must join hands as four countries for a lasting solution. There can be no peace without weapons being laid down. The PKK, PJAK and all their branches must cease to exist and lay down their weapons," he stated.
"On the issue of terrorism, Türkiye's security is Iran's security, and Iran's security is Türkiye's security. Our cooperation must develop," Momeni noted.
The Iranian minister pointed to the historic ties between Türkiye and Iran and the importance of cooperation against terrorism, organized crime, border security and irregular migration.
"I extend my thanks to the Turkish state and the Turkish nation for the support they have shown us in the war imposed on us. I extend my gratitude to the President of the Republic of Türkiye and the Turkish government for condemning these murders," he said.
He also called for closer bilateral cooperation on extradition, particularly in drug-related cases, saying, "We must increase our cooperation on extraditing criminals before they reach trial, especially in drug-related crimes. We are open to cooperation. We must expand the scope of our cooperation and extradition processes on issues such as Interpol cooperation, smuggling and terrorism. Border security is important. We want to cooperate against illegal irregular migration. We are ready to cooperate against human trafficking networks on the Türkiye-Iran border."
Turkish Interior Minister Mustafa Ciftci said the talks, held at the Interior Ministry, covered the dissolution and disarmament of the PKK/KCK under Türkiye's "terror-free Türkiye" process, the subsequent dismantling of the group's extensions operating under different names and in different regions, security risks tied to PJAK, cooperation against "new-generation organized crime groups," and broader security cooperation between the two countries.
"As a result of the resolute struggle we have waged, the terrorist organization PKK/KCK has been forced to dissolve itself and lay down its weapons. At the same time, we are also following the process of dismantling the PKK's extensions operating under different names and in different regions," he said.
Ciftci said the PKK's dissolution process in Syria and Iraq is important for regional peace, adding that it is equally important for the group's PJAK structure in Iran to be included in this process.
He warned that terrorist organization members opposed to the process could cross into Iran, potentially allowing the group to become more active there.
On joint steps against irregular migration, Ciftci said: "We have built our irregular migration policy on a comprehensive system that begins and ends in the country of origin, ensuring migrants' safe, dignified and voluntary return to their home countries. We know that you are also taking measures to prevent the passage of irregular migrants from your eastern border," the Turkish official said.
"I believe that by strengthening our border measures in a coordinated manner, we can more effectively combat the irregular migration pressure we face. In particular, we need to strengthen our fight against human trafficking networks and migrant smugglers and increase mutual information exchange. While combating irregular migration, we also support regular migration," he concluded.
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