The outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) held a congress this week and made "historic" decisions after a call by its leader to dissolve, a news agency linked to the group said on Friday - a potentially key step in resolving a long conflict with Turkey.
More than 40,000 people have been killed in the PKK conflict © Mena Today
The outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) held a congress this week and made "historic" decisions after a call by its leader to dissolve, a news agency linked to the group said on Friday - a potentially key step in resolving a long conflict with Turkey.
The Firat news agency reported what it called a statement by the PKK after its May 5-7 gathering in northern Iraq, where the insurgent group is now based after a more than 40-year conflict with the Turkish state.
In it, the PKK did not say whether it had decided to disband or disarm.
"The PKK 12th Congress made decisions of historic importance regarding PKK activities based on the call of Leader Apo," the PKK was cited by Firat as saying, referring to PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan who has been imprisoned for 26 years.
More detailed information would be shared with the public "very soon," it said.
Ocalan, who has been serving a life sentence since 1999, issued a statement through his lawyers on Feb. 27 calling for a revival of peace efforts.
More than 40,000 people have been killed in the PKK conflict, which has seen intermittent peace efforts over the years, most notably a ceasefire between 2013 and 2015 that ultimately collapsed.
Editing by Jonathan Spicer and Mark Heinrich
President Tayyip Erdogan said he believed ties between Turkey and Azerbaijan could overcome all obstacles and he would visit Baku on November 8, after tensions in recent weeks between the historic allies over regional and domestic policies.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said he wanted to speak to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to discuss efforts to end the war in Ukraine, after talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday.
Ankara rejected on Wednesday what it called the "prejudiced and unfair" stance of the European Union towards fundamental rights and the judiciary in Turkey, and regarding Cyprus, contained in the bloc's report on EU membership candidates.
To make this website run properly and to improve your experience, we use cookies. For more detailed information, please check our Cookie Policy.
Necessary cookies enable core functionality. The website cannot function properly without these cookies, and can only be disabled by changing your browser preferences.