Speaking to RojNews, PUK Presidential Council Member Arêz Ebdullah said that the aim of the Turkish state is occupation and drew attention to the references made by state officials, especially Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to the Lausanne agreement that is coming to an end.

Ebdullah said: "The aim of the Turkish state is to add Mosul province, in South Kurdistan, to Turkey's territory as it was in the past."

Stating that the Turkish state used the PKK presence as an excuse to carry out the occupation, Ebdullah added: "The PKK is not in Başîka Mountain, why did Turkey set up a military base there? Whoever thinks that the reason for the Turkish state's attacks is the PKK, is mistaking. Wherever the Turkish state moves in, if for occupying that area.”

Ebdullah continued: "Take note of what I said: Turkey will invade Kurdistan. Even if the PKK withdraws from the border, Turkey will not pull out and will invade South Kurdistan. The KDP should stop thinking that the PKK is Turkey's reason for invading the region.”

Stating that the PUK is ready to mediate between the PKK and the KDP, Ebdullah said that the PUK stands against an inter-Kurdish conflict.

Ebdullah pointed out that neither the PUK nor the Peshmerga Ministry were informed of the KDP decision to dispatch forces to the region:

“According to the current laws of the Kurdistan Region, the peshmerga can go anywhere from Zaxo to Qandil, Xakurkê and Sîdekan. But neither the Ministry of Peshmerga nor the PUK were aware of the forces being sent to the regions. In such a period, sending this force there is interpreted as supporting the Turkish army. But if it had gone there before or after Turkey's attacks, it would have been interpreted differently.”

Call on the PKK and KDP

Ebdullah ended his remarks with the following call: “The PKK and the KDP should understand each other. The PKK should consider the situation in South Kurdistan, and the KDP should not use the PKK as an excuse for the Turkish invasion. Let's resolve existing disagreements through dialogue. Turkey has a dangerous plan, it wants to reach Qandil and all parts of Kurdistan.”