Barzani says Turkey’s Kurdish peace process is serious but moving slowly

Masoud Barzani spoke at a forum in Erbil, in Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, about Turkey’s effort to resolve its conflict with Kurdish groups and developments in Syria.

He said he had doubted the Turkish process was serious two years ago, but changed his view after meeting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Barzani said the process was moving slowly but in the right direction, and that resolving the issue would benefit both Turkey and the wider region.

He said the person who resolved it would deserve the Nobel Peace Prize, naming Erdoğan as the leading candidate.

On Syria, Barzani said President Ahmed al-Sharaa wanted to address problems and was not opposed to Kurds.

He pointed to Kurdish participation in security institutions and steps toward Kurdish-language education as signs of progress.

Barzani also noted that Syria faces major social, reconstruction and infrastructure challenges, and said rebuilding it would take a long time.