Pro-Kurdish Delegation Meets Jailed PKK Leader for Potential Peace Breakthrough

Abdullah Ocalan is expected to issue a significant statement that could influence efforts to end Turkey's decades-long conflict with the PKK.

A seven-member delegation from Turkey's pro-Kurdish DEM Party has traveled to Imrali Island to meet Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Ocalan is anticipated to make a 'historic declaration' urging PKK fighters to disarm in exchange for concessions for Turkey's Kurdish minority.
The Turkish government has expressed opposition to Ocalan delivering a video statement, instead favoring a written declaration.
Observers are uncertain how PKK commanders, primarily based in northern Iraq and northeastern Syria, will respond to Ocalan's expected appeal.
The conflict between the PKK and the Turkish state, ongoing since 1984, has resulted in over 40,000 deaths and previous peace talks collapsed in 2015.