Erdogan welcomes PKK disarmament as an important step towards a Turkey without terrorism

(Patria) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomed the disarmament process initiated by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) as an important step towards a Turkey without terrorism, TASS reported.

"I hope that the big step taken today on the path to a Turkey without terrorism will bring positive results," he wrote on the social network X.

He wished God's help on the path the country is taking "for our security, our people, and lasting peace in our region".

The Turkish president is expected to speak in more detail on this issue today. According to earlier reports, the first group of PKK militants laid down their arms in the mountains of the Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan, on Friday. As evidenced by footage released by Turkish media, at least thirty automatic rifles and one rocket launcher were symbolically burned.

About thirty PKK members, about half of whom were women, participated in the ceremony.

In February, PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who is serving a sentence in a Turkish prison on terrorism charges, called on all PKK-affiliated groups to lay down their arms and end the armed conflict with Ankara.

The party's conference in May decided to self-dissolve and end the nearly fifty-year stalemate with the Turkish authorities.