President Erdogan says PKK must disband as Türkiye pushes for terror-free future

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for the full disbandment of the terrorist organization PKK, stating that Türkiye is on the verge of eradicating the terrorist group’s armed presence following years of counterterrorism operations.

Türkiye renews call for end to terrorist group PKK

Speaking to the reporters on a plane during his return from Italy, Erdogan credited the Turkish intelligence community, particularly the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), with accelerating progress toward neutralizing the PKK threat.

“We aim to eliminate terrorism and open a new era of unity and peace in Türkiye,” he said.

He emphasized that Türkiye had already taken substantial steps toward democratization and regional stability and expressed a hope that the PKK would acknowledge its isolation and respond positively to calls for disarmament.

“Our goal is a Türkiye without terrorism for our children,” he added.

This operation, as you know, is being carried out by our National Intelligence Organization, and Mr. Ibrahim Kalin is leading the efforts in this regard. Our goal is to completely rid ourselves of the scourge of terrorism that tries to undermine Türkiye’s unity, integrity, and brotherhood and to move forward into the future. We have achieved significant success in the fight against terrorism. We have taken the most advanced steps in democratization.

To completely eliminate terrorism and open the doors to a new era, the People’s Alliance has demonstrated a strong and determined will. The terrorist organization must now realize that it has reached a dead end and should heed the calls made to them. Our greatest motivation in this process is to leave a terror-free Türkiye, a terror-free country, to our children. We maintain our motivation.

We are working for a Türkiye where civil politics are strengthened, peace is firmly established, and our resources are allocated to the future, to technology, and to development. Both friends and foes will see that there is no longer room for division in Türkiye and understand that no force can suppress the united heart of our nation. As I have said before, a terror-free Türkiye is not a give-and-take process, but a climate of brotherhood. It is the long-standing yearning of our nation.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan