Kurdish Militant Group PKK Agrees to Disarm as Turkey Weighs Next Steps

The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged an armed insurgency against the Turkish government for over four decades, has declared a ceasefire following a call from its imprisoned leader, Abdullah Ocalan.

 While Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has acknowledged the ceasefire as a potential step toward peace, he has also warned that military operations against the PKK will resume if disarmament efforts falter.

 Yusuf Can, Program Coordinator for the Wilson Center's Middle East Program, discusses the significance of this decision and why it has come now. He talks about the shifting dynamics in Syria and the broader Middle East, President Erdogan’s possible strategies to extend his rule beyond 2028, and how the Turkish government has intensified its crack down of opposition groups, particularly targeting Kurdish political actors, journalists, and elected officials.