Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş met the Prime Minister of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Nechirvan Barzani, on Sunday. After the meeting Demirtaş held a press conference in which he gave more information about the visit to the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK) in Kandil. The BDP co-chair and BDP Istanbul deputy Sırrı Süreyya Önder met with KCK executives to deliver the letter Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan has sent to the KCK.

Referring to the impression he had during the Kandil meeting, Demirtaş said that "KCK executives said they stuck to Mr. Öcalan and his decisions till the end but they explicitly said that they were disturbed about the language of the AKP government".

The BDP co-chair pointed out that everyone should show sensitivity and do their part in the currently ongoing fragile and critical process, adding; "The AKP government hasn't made any remarkable change in its approach towards the issue. This is what mainly causes concerns on the side of the KCK executives".

Demirtaş noted that KCK executives have openly expressed that they had difficulty in making a decision on withdrawal from Turkish borders and remarked that this problem could be removed if the AKP government gave reliable messages about the current phase.

Demirtaş called attention to the importance of the establishment of Commission of Wise People and other committees in the parliament, remarking that some major issues needed to be provided with legal and constitutional assurance. “Supporting this process doesn't mean standing by the AKP or BDP, it means standing by the people's hope for peace, democracy and brotherhood”, he underlined.

Hinting at the approach of CHP (Republican People's Party) and MHP (Nationalist Movement Party) towards the current developments, Demirtaş said that “Those lacking in self-confidence are judging the current phase only on the base of the AKP government and its policies. They lead the issue to a deadlock by not going beyond the discussion of trust in the AKP or on or unreliability. However, this is a matter trusting yourself and your own struggle, not the AKP government”.

Remarking that it would be wrong to say for certain that Kurdish guerrilla forces will withdraw from Turkey, BDP co-chair said: “All I can say on this subject is the fact that Kandil is currently going through a time of decision making”. He noted that Kandil will reply to Öcalan's letter in the coming days, and that the BDP delegation will be first in Ankara and then will go to Imralı after receiving this letter for the Kurdish leader.

Referring to the meeting with Nechirvan Barzani, Demirtaş said they paid a return visit to Barzani following the visit he had paid to BDP while in Turkey in late March. Demirtaş said they had talked about the developments in relations between the Turkish government and PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) during the meeting in Hewler. He underlined that the Federal Kurdistan Region and all political parties there supported the talks.