Anticipation is high that a major threat to Türkiye may finally subside, and a fragmented social unity can be mended. This week, the PKK terrorist group, which exploited Kurdish rights for decades and killed thousands across the country, is expected to lay down arms.

Time will tell how this stage of the “terror-free Türkiye” initiative will hold up, but it will be the first time for the PKK to literally abandon arms after a brief, so-called truce it declared more than a decade ago, only to resume a campaign of violence with more intensity.

Developments confirm that the initiative, launched by a government ally last year, is moving forward to disarmament.

A delegation from the Peoples’ Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) went to meet PKK jailed ringleader Abdullah Öcalan on Sunday ahead of expected disarmament. It is the sixth visit to Öcalan in less than one year. For years, he was not allowed to receive visitors. Authorities eased his conditions after the terror-free Türkiye initiative began, and since then, he has mainly held talks with delegations from the DEM Party and his relatives, including his nephew Ömer Öcalan, himself a DEM Party lawmaker.

Lawmakers Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar traveled with lawyer Özgür Faik Erol to Imralı prison island near Istanbul, where Öcalan has been serving a sentence since 1999, a DEM Party statement said.

The talks came ahead of a planned ceremony by PKK members in a northern Iraqi region controlled by Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). At the ceremony, expected to be held on or around July 10-12, terrorists are expected to destroy the first tranche of weapons, either by burning them or burying them in a symbolic gesture. The exact location of the ceremony has not been confirmed, but the DEM Party said in an earlier statement that several journalists would be invited to the event. The symbolic disarmament, which comes about two months afterthe PKK announced it would dissolve itself, will likely follow a DEM Party delegation meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

In February, Öcalan urged the PKK to disband. The historic call was a product of the initiative that was shaped after Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahçeli, a government ally, urged authorities to let Öcalan speak at Parliament and make the said call. Instead, Öcalan made the call through statements conveyed by a DEM party delegation at a news conference in Istanbul.

President Erdoğan’s remarks, published on Saturday reflect progress in the initiative. Answering reporters’ questions during a return flight from Azerbaijan, Erdoğan said they had faith in achieving their terror-free Türkiye goal. “We fulfilled many wishes of our nations. This dream that will reinforce our brotherhood, cement our home front and accelerate the march of civilization will also come true. Steps for terror-free Türkiye are being taken gradually, in a controlled manner,” Erdoğan said.

The president underlined that Türkiye’s stance has been clear since the beginning: “Disarmament should be unconditional and the group should dissolve itself fully.”

“Step by step, we arrived at this stage. Once the terrorist group started putting disarmament into practice, the process would gain momentum,” he said.

Counterterrorism efforts since the 1980s have taken a heavy toll on the Turkish economy, while southeastern regions plagued by terrorism saw their economic growth stunted. The PKK’s actions also hindered Türkiye’s border security, especially with the rise of the group’s Syria wing during the civil war there.

“Once bloodshed and tears end, once the weapons disappear, we will turn a new page for the future. Relevant agencies monitor every step in the initiative and take necessary steps. We won’t allow it to continue on its own and will not allow provocations,” Erdoğan said.

The National Intelligence Organization (MIT) is assigned to monitor the disarmament in coordination with authorities in Iraq and Syria, according to media reports. MIT chief Ibrahim Kalın was in northern Iraq last week, where he met local officials, shortly before a visit to Turkish military units deployed on the Turkish-Iraqi border to monitor the group’s activities.

The initiative was largely endorsed by the opposition as Parliament is expected to form a committee to oversee it in the coming days. However, some far-right politicians opposed the move, claiming it was a concession to the terrorist group. Authorities insist that any conditions set by the PKK would not be accepted, and terrorists deciding to surrender and return to Türkiye would be tried under existing laws. Counterterrorism laws offer lenient sentences for PKK members not involved in attacks or other crimes. The PKK’s senior cadres, in the meantime, are expected to leave for third countries after the dissolution.

Erdoğan affirmed his upcoming meeting with a DEM Party delegation consisting of lawmakers Buldan and Sancar, adding that Kalın and Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) Deputy Chair Efkan Ala would accompany him at the meeting. Ala, a former interior minister, was instrumental in overseeing the “reconciliation process” to end PKK terrorism more than a decade ago. This process, which involved granting more rights to the Kurdish community to end the PKK’s dominance and exploitation over it, ultimately failed when the terrorist group resumed deadly attacks against security forces, apparently strengthening itself during its so-called “truce.” Erdoğan is expected to receive the DEM Party delegation on Monday, a report on Sunday said.

“Disarmament of the PKK terrorist group will be the beginning of a new era for Türkiye in terms of security, democracy and development,” Erdoğan said, adding that Ankara would continue the initiative. The president said the DEM Party and the People’s Alliance the AK Party formed with the MHP agreed to build a road map on how to build a terror-free Türkiye.

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For the ruling party, it is the tentacles of an octopus, and for prosecutors, it is a widespread network of corruption. In-depth investigations into graft in municipalities run by the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) has now netted mayors of Adana, Antalya and Adıyaman. Along with sharing a first letter and being located in Türkiye’s south, the three cities now have the distinction of seeing their mayors apparently following the same pattern of corruption with other CHP-run municipalities.

Of the three, only Antalya Mayor Muhittin Böcek was formally arrested late Saturday, while legal proceedings are underway for Adana Mayor Zeydan Karalar and Adıyaman Mayor Abdurrahman Tutdere. Although their cases are separate, the names of all three men and municipalities are partially linked to investigations in Istanbul, whose mayor, Ekrem Imamoğlu, was arrested on similar charges in March.

Böcek was detained on charges of bribery, while his former daughter-in-law, Z.K., detained in the same case, was released with judicial control on Saturday. Böcek’s son, who is currently in Italy, is also wanted in the case.

Investigators say Böcek’s son, M.G., sought “payments” from businessman Y.Y. for the 2024 election campaign of his father and convinced him to sign a contract for a municipal contract in a bid to hide the source of payment amounting to TL 8.5 million ($210,000). On another occasion, M.G. bought a luxury residence for his wife, apparently instead of alimony, during their divorce proceedings, and Y.Y. paid the price on his behalf. Evidence against him includes activities in the bank accounts of M.G. and Y.Y. and a report by the Financial Crimes Investigation Board. Z.K. told investigators that she was not aware how M.G. paid for the residence; M.G. was unemployed at the time of the purchase.

For his part, Muhittin Böcek claimed he was not aware of payments by Y.Y., though he acknowledged he was familiar with the businessman due to his work. “I don’t know what terms he was on with my son,” he claimed. He also claimed he was not aware that his daughter-in-law had been given a residence during the divorce.

On Friday, the deputy mayor of Manavgat, a district of Antalya, was detained in a bribery operation. Police officers raiding the office of Mehmet Engin Tüter minutes after he allegedly accepted a bribe, discovered a large amount of euros hidden inside a box of baklava. Tüter had denied that he was aware of the cash, while the plaintiff who handed him the cash told authorities he paid the bribe in exchange for a permit for his business.

The cases of Tutdere and Karalar are linked to three separate corruption investigations based in Istanbul. Investigations focus on the ties of businessman Aziz Ihsan Aktaş, who allegedly paid bribes to district municipalities in Istanbul for lucrative contracts. He was detained last year along with CHP’s Beşiktaş Mayor Rıza Akpolat. Testimony of Aktaş and other suspects, as well as other evidence, led to 15 detention warrants on Saturday, including Karalar and Zeydan. Ahmet Şahin, acting mayor of Istanbul’s Büyükçekmece district, who recently replaced Hasan Akgün, was also arrested on charges of corruption in a similar case.

Karalar is accused of accepting bribes from companies seeking access to the municipality’s tenders during his previous tenure as mayor of Adana’s Seyhan district. Tutdere is also accused of seeking bribes from several businesses. In both cases, the mayors are accused of using the municipality’s bureaucrats as intermediaries for the payment of bribes to avoid detection.

The CHP claims the detentions and arrests are politically motivated despite mounting evidence of bribery and amid confessions of businesspeople who detailed how they paid bribes to mayors and municipal bureaucrats in exchange for building permits and winning municipal tenders.

The party’s chair, Özgür Özel, reiterated their defense of the mayors and, in Böcek’s case, he said the arrest would “harm Antalya.” He claimed the mayors were “prisoners we will liberate one day.”

Özel incited CHP supporters to riots after Imamoğlu’s arrest and threatened any business he branded as pro-government with a boycott.

The government has repeatedly reiterated that the investigations are carried out by an independent judiciary and accuses the CHP of attempting to dodge corruption charges by portraying the arrests as political. The Fight Against Disinformation Center (DMM), a subsidiary of the Presidency’s Directorate of Communications, said in a statement on Sunday that the opposition’s claim that only opposition parties were investigated for corruption was untrue. The DMM said the Interior Ministry also approved an investigation into municipalities run by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), as well as its ally Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). The statement said that in 2024 alone, the government greenlit an investigation into 59 municipalities run by the AK Party, while this number was 58 for the CHP and 21 for the MHP.

“It is clear that investigations are launched regardless of the party affiliation of municipalities,” the statement said.

On Saturday, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan slammed the CHP for disinformation regarding the investigations and trying to exploit them. “They tried to manipulate the public, but our nation is aware of their plot. The public knows riots would only serve separatists. I advise CHP administrations to be patient and await the verdict of the independent judiciary,” he was quoted by Turkish media.

“This is a moment of self-reflection for the CHP. Instead of contributing to the country’s politics, they seek to benefit from riots. They try to cover up the crimes through riots, through attempts to smear our judiciary organs,” he said.

“It is obvious that they do not trust their mayors, so they try to distort the issue,” Erdoğan said. Under the pretext of “politically motivated” arrests, the CHP long sought to rally the public for early elections.

“Is it possible for a party caught in a corruption syndrome to receive public approval? You can feel the stench (of corruption) everywhere,” Erdoğan said.

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The Turkish Parliament returns to its weekly session on Tuesday ahead of a scheduled summer recess. This week’s agenda will be new regulations on energy projects’ impacts on the environment and a debate on raising the lowest pension, days after new inflation figures were announced.

Lawmakers on Tuesday will look into a bill on energy and mining. The bill bans any permits, incentives or licenses for new projects that did not receive a positive report on environmental impact. No public tenders will be launched unless the report is produced. Another bill before Parliament offers a 30% discount in permit fees for mines, although it also introduces a rehabilitation fee for mines’ impact on the environment.

The bill also authorizes the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources to approve the relocation of olive trees in areas designated for mining for energy needs if mining activities can only be carried out in areas hosting olive orchards. Trees will be allowed to be relocated in areas within the borders of the district where the mine is located. Mine owners will be required to pay for every year of mining activity for the rehabilitation of the lands where the mines are set up in places with olive orchards.

Another bill before Parliament offers an 85% discount on fees for permits and leases for production facilities for renewable energy sources. It will cover facilities that will be opened by the year 2030. The government also plans to extend current discounts on these procedures for an additional five years to reduce energy imports, narrow the current account deficit, and boost production based on domestic resources.

The bill also includes a regulation to raise the minimum monthly pension to TL 16,881 (approximately $515) starting from this month.

Another key provision would increase the mandatory retirement age for generals and admirals appointed as force commanders to 67. The president would be authorized to extend this age limit up to 72 in one-year increments. The number of generals and admirals whose service terms can be extended by the Supreme Military Council would also rise from 36 to 60, and up to 75 in exceptional circumstances.

According to another bill before Parliament, in the tourism sector, workers at lodging facilities certified by the Ministry of Culture and Tourism would be allowed to take their weekly rest day within four days following the day they become entitled to it, provided they submit a written request or give approval.

The bill also introduces penalties for private employment agencies that fail to report job postings or data on individuals directed to open positions in the required format and timeframe set by the relevant institution. Agencies that ignore warnings will face administrative fines of TL 136,190, which will double to TL 272,380 for repeat violations within a year.

Meanwhile, the newly established Commission on the Investigation of Problems Faced by People with Disabilities is expected to hold its second meeting to determine its working calendar.

The Foreign Affairs Committee will discuss five draft laws on international agreements and hear a presentation from Foreign Ministry officials on recent developments in Cyprus, including actions taken by the Greek Cypriot administration against individuals purchasing property in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC).

The State Economic Enterprises Committee will continue its review of the 2021 and 2022 balance sheets and income statements of various institutions, including Ziraat Bank and its subsidiaries, Türkiye Emlak Katılım Bank, Türk Reasürans and Türk Katılım Reasürans.

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Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan is representing Türkiye at the two-day 17th BRICS Leaders summit, which began in Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro on Sunday.

The summit comes amid rising geopolitical tensions, including the recent Israeli and U.S. strikes on Iran, which has been a BRICS member since 2024, along with the genocide in the Gaza Strip and the war in Ukraine.

The return of Donald Trump to the White House and his renewed tariff threats have also raised concerns for the group.

The two-day talks will be hosted by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, with trade and investment, financial cooperation, AI and technology, global health, and climate action on the agenda.

Türkiye’s top diplomat, who attended the BRICS session on the sidelines of a BRICS foreign ministers meeting in Russia last month, will attend two sessions in Brazil, on multilateralism, artificial intelligence, economy, environment and global health.

BRICS was originally formed in 2009 by Brazil, Russia, India and China, with South Africa joining the following year.

It has grown to 11 members, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Indonesia – the latest member to join the bloc.

An additional 10 countries, among them Vietnam, Nigeria and Malaysia, have joined as official “partner countries,” a new category introduced at the 16th BRICS summit in Russia.

The bloc, which sees itself as a voice for the Global South, accounts for around 44% of global GDP and more than 56% of the world’s population. It advocates for a multipolar global order and expansionism and seeks to counter Western influence on the global front.

Notably absent from the summit will be two founding leaders, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

Putin, who faces an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant, will participate virtually, according to media reports. Meanwhile, the Russian delegation in Brazil will be represented by Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. Xi will skip the summit, his first time missing the meeting as Chinese president in 12 years. According to media reports, Beijing had reportedly informed the Brazilian government that Xi would be absent from the event due to a scheduling conflict. Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang is expected to attend in his place. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian is also reportedly going to miss the summit.

Those attending include Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

The group seeks better cooperation among Global South countries by creating alternative financial systems, reducing dollar dependency and greater representation in global institutions.

With the theme for this year’s summit, “Strengthening Global South Cooperation for More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance,” the BRICS nations are set to discuss a wide range of topics

Brazil is said to focus on six key topics, including global health cooperation, trade, investment and finance, and climate change. It is also emphasizing artificial intelligence, governance, multilateral peace and security architecture and institutional development.

At the summit, Fidan is expected to underscore the importance of preserving and enhancing the effectiveness of multilateralism in addressing global challenges.

Fidan is also anticipated to emphasize the role of the BRICS platform in this context and present Türkiye’s principled, constructive and humanitarian approach to crises in the Middle East, particularly in Gaza. He is likely to draw attention to the threats posed by Israel’s aggression to regional peace, security, and development.

The minister is expected to reaffirm Türkiye’s stance that global prosperity can only be achieved through cooperation, dialogue and stability, rather than through military conflicts or trade wars. He will likely stress the importance of a fair and predictable international trade system.

Fidan is also expected to highlight the need for shared responsibility in tackling issues such as climate change, environmental protection, sustainable development and global health. He will present Türkiye’s concrete contributions in these areas, including its legislative efforts and ongoing projects such as the zero waste initiative aimed at combating climate change.

Additionally, Fidan is set to outline Türkiye’s vision for building a sustainable artificial intelligence and advanced technology ecosystem. He is expected to call for a more inclusive and responsive multilateral system to reduce global poverty, address inequality and bridge development gaps among countries.

On the sidelines of the summit, Fidan is also scheduled to hold bilateral meetings.

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Türkiye on Sunday warned that Israel’s war in Gaza has undone decades of development in the Middle East and could trigger global consequences if its aggression is not curbed.

“If Israel’s aggression and expansionism are not brought under control, the consequences will be felt globally,” Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said during a session at the 17th BRICS leaders’ summit in Rio de Janeiro, hosted by Brazil, according to Turkish diplomatic sources.

Speaking at a panel called “Strengthening Multilateralism, Economic-Financial Affairs and Artificial Intelligence,” Fidan said Israel’s actions have triggered a crisis for international institutions responsible for maintaining peace and security.

“The tragedy of the Palestinian people is now at the center of our discussions on multilateralism,” he said. “This situation is a serious crisis for the legitimacy of institutions responsible for maintaining international peace and security.”

Fidan said Türkiye is intensifying efforts to support a peaceful resolution and de-escalation in the region and stands ready to back lasting peace.

He noted globalization has deepened mutual dependencies, making value chains, particularly in energy and critical minerals, increasingly fragile, stressing the need for growth, employment and free trade to achieve development.

“As the world moves toward multipolarity, global governance of artificial intelligence is becoming a critical priority,” he said. “Necessary precautions must be taken to prevent AI from turning into a new tool of domination.”

According to an Associated Press (AP) report in February, Israel’s wars on Gaza and Lebanon marked the first confirmation that commercial AI models made in the U.S. were used directly in warfare. U.S. tech giants have quietly empowered Israel to track and kill targets in Gaza and Lebanon through a sharp spike in artificial intelligence and computing services, despite concerns that commercial AI models were not originally developed to decide who lives and dies, an AP investigation found.

Despite international calls for a cease-fire, the Israeli army has pursued a genocidal war on Gaza, killing more than 57,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children, since October 2023. Last November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his former defense minister, Yoav Gallant, for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for its war on the enclave.

Türkiye, a fervent critic of Israel, is working to prevent a recurrence of Israel’s cease-fire violations, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Saturday. He assured he had spoken about the matter with U.S. President Donald Trump at a NATO summit last month.

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As the Palestinian death toll from Israeli strikes mounts, Gaza has “no time to lose”, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has warned, urging Western countries, especially the U.S., to step up pressure on Israel to stop its war on the enclave.

Türkiye is working ceaselessly to help facilitate an immediate cease-fire and humanitarian aid deliveries there, Erdoğan said in remarks published Saturday from an interview with journalists on a flight back from an economy summit in Azerbaijan.

Recalling their meeting on the sidelines of the NATO leaders’ summit at The Hague last month, Erdoğan said he urged U.S. President Donald Trump to “intervene” over the shooting of Palestinians at Gaza aid centers.

“I told Mr. Trump ‘You and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could manage this process the best. People are being killed waiting in line for food. You need to intervene to stop the killing of these people,’” Erdoğan said, noting that he saw Trump had a “positive” approach to the matter.

The U.N. human rights office said it has recorded 613 Palestinians killed within the span of a month in Gaza while trying to obtain aid. Most were killed while trying to reach food distribution points run by an Israeli-backed American organization, while others were massed waiting for aid trucks connected to the United Nations or other humanitarian organizations, it said.

The lasting calm in the region failed due to Israel’s ceasefire violations, said Erdoğan, adding that Ankara is working to prevent recurrence this time.

Türkiye believes the cease-fire between Iran and Israel has also opened the door for a Gaza truce, the president said, adding that Hamas has repeatedly shown its goodwill on this matter.

F-35 program

On the F-35 delivery issue between Washington and Ankara, Erdoğan said that he expects gradual delivery of F-35s to Türkiye during Trump’s term, hoping that the U.S. president will “honor our agreement.”

The F-35 issue is not just about the military technology for Türkiye, said Erdoğan, adding: “It’s also about strong partnerships on global platforms, especially NATO.”

Terror-free push

The Turkish president also said the terror-free Türkiye initiative would gain momentum after PKK terrorists begin laying down their weapons.

His remarks came ahead of a planned ceremony by the PKK in northern Iraq where it operates a stronghold to begin destroying its weapons, which the group said could happen between July 10 and 12.

“The process will gain a little more speed when the terrorist organization starts to implement its decision to lay down arms,” Erdoğan told reporters.

As part of the terror-free initiative launched by Erdoğan’s ally Devlet Bahçeli last year, the PKK declared an end to its terror campaign in May, which has claimed more than 40,000 lives in Türkiye, as well as in Iraq and Syria since 1984.

Syria

On Syria, Erdoğan said that Türkiye has made its red lines clear on Syria, adding the country won’t tolerate any plan legitimizing terrorist groups or their affiliates.

“We can implement models such as free trade zones, logistics hubs, and border markets in northern Syria,” Erdoğan added.

“In my meeting with brother (Azerbaijan’s President) Ilham Aliyev, he said: ‘I am ready to provide all kinds of support on natural gas to Syria,'” the president said.

Azerbaijan, Russia, Armenia

Erdoğan also called on Russia and Azerbaijan to show restraint amid increased tension between the two nations, noting that Ankara has “deep and strategic ties” with both Moscow and Baku.

Ankara’s greatest wish is that unfortunate incidents do not cause “irreparable damage” to relations between Moscow and Baku,” he said.

Touching on the peace deal between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Erdoğan said: “We will witness an opening of new and historic windows of opportunity with the peace deal.”

Regarding the Zangezur Corridor – a strategic route set to connect western Azerbaijan to the exclave of Nakhchivan and emerge as a key link from China to Türkiye and Russia – Erdoğan said it offers opportunities not only for Azerbaijan but for the entire region.

He noted that Ankara views the route as part of a “geo-economic revolution.”

Even though Armenia initially opposed the Zangezur Corridor, Yerevan is now showing a more flexible approach to joining economic integration, he added.

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