ERBIL () - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told senior leaders of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) that Türkiye's reconciliation process has entered an especially delicate phase, warning that any attempt to derail it must be met with greater vigilance, the newspaper Milliyet, seen as close to the governing party, reported.
The meeting of the AKP's central executive board lasted close to three hours, according to Milliyet, with Erdogan directly addressing the risks now facing the peace process. Speaking to those in attendance, Erdogan said:
"We are entering a very sensitive phase; the likelihood of collapse is high, so from now on we must work closely alongside your efforts. Those who want to undermine the process and complicate it — we must be far more vigilant against them."
According to the report, the discussion was not confined to developments inside Türkiye's borders. Erdogan and party leaders also closely followed the status of organizational structures across the wider region, while renewing emphasis on deepening ties with concerned countries in pursuit of a final outcome on disarmament, dissolution and an end to PKK activities.
Turning to Türkiye's planned new constitution, Erdogan indicated that with the start of the new legislative session on Oct. 1, parliament will face an intensive work agenda, with preparations for the new constitution set to be one of its central priorities.
A law establishing the legal framework for the resolution process was passed by the Turkish parliament on Aug. 10, 2026. Its content addresses the fate of PKK fighters and supporters prepared to lay down their weapons. Under the law, security agencies must first confirm that the PKK and affiliated organizations have ended their activities and handed over their weapons and ammunition before further steps can proceed.
Efforts to revive Türkiye's peace process began in October 2024, after Devlet Bahceli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), proposed that Abdullah Ocalan appear before the Turkish parliament to declare the PKK's dissolution. In February 2025, Ocalan issued a call for fighters to lay down their weapons and end the armed struggle. That July, a number of PKK militants symbolically burned their weapons and withdrew from several military positions.
With parliament set to reconvene under an agenda that pairs constitutional reform with the unfinished business of disarmament, Erdogan's warning suggests Ankara views the coming months as decisive for whether the peace process holds.
