Shafaq News/ Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan voiced Turkiye's concerns over the extensive presence of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in Syria, highlighting its control over significant territory and vital energy resources.

In an exclusive interview with TRT World on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Fidan stated, “Not many people know the very fact that the PKK occupies one-third of the entire Syrian land and controls critical energy resources urgently needed by the rest of the Syrian population.”

Fidan described the PKK as an existential threat not only to Turkiye but also to Kurds in Syria, Iraq, and Iran. “In any state, we cannot have armed groups who are not reporting to the central government,” he emphasized.

The minister also underlined the importance of regional ownership in the fight against terrorism, stressing that foreign interventions often exacerbate existing problems. Fidan called for a collective effort to eliminate both PKK and Daesh (ISIS,) saying, “Now, it is time to put an end to terror activities of Daesh and PKK… we must get rid of this virus.”

Fidan's remarks came amid ongoing diplomatic efforts for a potential settlement to the decades-long conflict between Turkiye and Kurdish militants. On Monday, a member of the pro-Kurdish DEM party delegation revealed that jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan is working on a “democratic” process to resolve the conflict.

The delegation, which recently met with Ocalan, has held talks with key Turkish parliamentary factions and traveled to Iraq last weekend for further discussions.

In Iraq’s Kurdistan region, the delegation met with Kurdish leaders, including Masoud Barzani and Nechirvan Barzani, to discuss Ocalan’s initiative. “Mr. Ocalan is working hard to find a process that could lead to a solution despite all the difficult conditions,” said Keskin Bayindir, a member of the delegation. “He is working to remove this issue from the field of war and conflict and establish a democratic and legal process.”

While there is no set timeline for presenting Ocalan’s plan, Kurdish politicians are hopeful it will be revealed soon, with some expecting it by Nowruz, the Kurdish New Year, in March.

The PKK has waged a decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state, with its militants operating in Iraq’s Kurdistan region, where Turkiye maintains military bases. Peace efforts have stalled for nearly a decade, but in October, Turkiye’s nationalist MHP party extended an olive branch to Ocalan, urging him to renounce violence in exchange for a potential early release from Imrali island, where he has been incarcerated since 1999.

The call, supported by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has renewed dialogue to find a resolution to a conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.