PKK Leader declares new phase in peace process

Shafaq News - Ankara

On Sunday, Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Ocalan declared the start of a new phase in peace efforts with the Turkish state, urging all parties to assume responsibility.

According to a statement by the Peoples’ Democracy and Equality Party (DEM Party), Ocalan made the remarks during a meeting with the Imrali delegation, confirming that he is “in good health and high spirits.”

During the meeting, Ocalan described Monday’s planned talks between the party delegation and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a “historic event.”

Earlier, the Kurdish DEM Party announced that a symbolic disarmament ceremony involving the PKK is expected to take place in the Kurdistan Region in the coming days.

In a message from his prison cell on February 27, Ocalan called on the group to end its four-decade armed struggle against the Turkish state and instead pursue a political solution to the Kurdish issue.