LONDON
The regional administration in north of Iraq welcomes Turkey's recent efforts to find a solution to the country's Kurdish issue, the regional administration's high representative to the UK told the Anadolu Agency.
"We have always advocated dialogue to solve the Kurdish issue in Turkey. We have always said that the use of arms is not going to solve the situation. We are absolutely delighted and we welcome the ceasefire and the steps that have been taken on both sides to go to the next stage," Bayan Sami Abdulrahman told the AA.
She was referring to ongoing talks between the Turkish intelligence agencies and PKK's jailed head Abdullah Ocalan to end a conflict that has killed tens of thousands people in the country in the past three decades.
Ocalan has recently called armed elements of the PKK to withdraw to northern Iraq and an opposition lawmaker from Turkey's pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party said Tuesday the withdrawal was set to begin on Thursday, April 25.
"[...] It is a path that will be very very difficult. It needs commitment, it needs confidence and there will probably be risks taken by both sides. To achieve peace you need to be bold and daring," Abdulrahman said.
She said reaction among Kurds in the UK to Turkey's efforts to solve the Kurdish issue was generally positive, however, Abdulrahman added that there was also "a little bit of caution."
"The shape of the peace has to be something domestic, something that will suit the people of Turkey including Kurds and non-Kurds. Solution has to be something internal within the borders of Turkey that will suit both sides otherwise it won't last," she said.
