In an interview to BBC Farsi Service, Federal Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani said that Ankara should start negotiations with the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party) before asking it to lay its arms down to ensure a solution to the Kurdish problem.

Defining the Kurdish problem as a political but not a military issue, Barzani pointed out that it is not possible for the Turkish state to solve the problem by means of military operations. “Dialogue and negotiation” is the only way to come up with a solution to the Kurdish issue, he underlined.

This long-lasting problem cannot be solved in one night, said Barzani and added that; “The critical question at this point is whether Turkey wants to solve this problem or not. If Turkish authorities want to solve this issue, they need to understand that they must sit at the table and start dialogue.”

Barzani listed his proposals for a solution as follows; a ceasefire between the Turkish government and the PKK, improvement of Abdullah Öcalan’s prison conditions and a true dialogue to have PKK lay its arms down.

Asked about KCK (Kurdish Communities Union) Executive Council President Murat Karayýlan’s interview with BBC in which he evaluated Turkey’s precondition for PKK’s laying arms down as surrender and something PKK will not agree to, Barzani said that Turkey should put forward this demand after starting negotiations with the organization.