The PKK terrorist group, along with its Syrian offshoot YPG, is a "major problem" to both Türkiye and Iraq, according to the head of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), a semi-autonomous entity controlling Iraq’s north.

Speaking at the Middle East Research Institute (MERI) in the KRG’s capital, Irbil, on Wednesday, Nechirvan Barzani said: "The PKK shows no respect for the institutions and organizations of the Kurdistan region.

"If the PKK wants a solution, it must cease its actions. The terrorist attack in Ankara was carried out to undermine the current process," Barzani added.

The PKK terrorist group attacked the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) headquarters in Ankara, which killed five people and injured 22 others on Oct. 23.

"We would be very happy to see the peace process in Türkiye reach a successful conclusion, as the solution would benefit not only Türkiye but the entire region," Barzani said, although Turkish officials refrain from calling the recent outreach a "peace process."

He praised the steps the current Turkish government has taken to address the "Kurdish issue," which he said have made "visible progress."

The KRG welcomed the statement from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his nationalist ally, Devlet Bahçeli, on the matter, Barzani added.

There have been signs of a thaw between the Turkish government and the PKK to end terrorism in Türkiye after Bahçeli, head of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) with a traditionally hardline stance against the PKK, pitched earlier this month a surprise proposal for the PKK’s jailed leader Abdullah Öcalan to come to speak at Parliament should he renounce violence and disband the PKK.

Against mixed responses, Erdoğan threw his support behind Bahçeli’s call, urging the terrorist group and its alleged political extension, the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party), to utilize what he called a "window of historic opportunity."

Öcalan himself, from his cell on a prison island near Istanbul, said he had the "theoretical and practical power to move this process from the level of conflict and violence to a political and legal level."

According to intelligence reports, however, the PKK has received fresh instructions to concentrate its attacks on Türkiye in the face of such a development.

Furthermore, attacks against Turkish security forces in northern Iraq and Syria have been "insufficient" for the ringleaders who have been ordered to "take the operations to the next level" by the countries they serve, reports said.

Erdoğan on Wednesday dismissed direct negotiations with the PKK leaders in Qandil and said the outreach was to the Kurdish community in Türkiye, stressing that Turkish-Kurdish unity was the key to ending terrorism.

Through the early 2010s, his government has realized a series of reforms for the community, including the establishment of the first national Kurdish-language television network, ethnic Kurdish institutes, the introduction of Kurdish lessons in universities and other development projects.

The PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Türkiye, the United States, Britain and the European Union – is responsible for over 40,000 civilian and security personnel deaths in Türkiye during an almost four-decadelong campaign of terror aimed at establishing a so-called Kurdish self-rule.

Turkish officials are opposed to the conflation of the Kurdish community and the PKK, arguing the definition implies Kurds are a problem for Türkiye and abets the PKK’s terrorist agenda.

PKK violence was initially raging in rural regions of southeastern Türkiye, but the terrorists have moved a large chunk of operations to northern Iraq since 2019 after successive Turkish operations. Ankara maintains dozens of military bases there and regularly targets the PKK.

Until recently, Iraq has said the operations violate its sovereignty, but Ankara says it is protecting its borders where it intends to establish a 30-40 kilometer (19-25 mile) security corridor.

In August, the neighbors agreed to military cooperation, namely joint training and operation centers, against the terrorists, months after Baghdad declared the PKK a banned organization.

Türkiye, however, wants Iraq to recognize the PKK as a terrorist group fully.

The PKK has a political foothold in the KRG-run city of Sulaymaniyah through the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), much to the chagrin of Ankara, who has warned to take measures if the city’s administration continues to tolerate terrorists.

Barzani earlier this summer urged implementation of the Sinjar agreement signed with the country's central government, demanding that the PKK and all other illegal groups leave the town, liberated from Daesh in 2014 yet occupied by PKK a year later.

On Wednesday, Barzani repeated his warning that the threat from Daesh has not been eliminated and continues to pose a danger to Iraq, noting that it does not differentiate between Shiite, Sunni and Kurdish people.

External support is necessary in the fight against the terrorist group, he added.

"We want to be a factor of stability in the region. Our trade volume with Türkiye is $12 billion. We have also resolved issues with Iran," said Barzani.

He highlighted that stopping oil flow from Iraq to Türkiye's Ceyhan Port has cost Iraq $15 billion, stressing that the issue should be viewed as an economic matter rather than a political one.

Barzani thanked Türkiye for its role in oil exports. "We have very good relations with Türkiye," he said.