The PKK terrorist group's imprisoned ringleader Abdullah Öcalan's call for the group to lay down their arms and dissolve was welcomed by Germany, the United States, the United Nations and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq on Thursday.
In a statement, the German Foreign Ministry said the call was a "historic chance" to bring to an end their decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state.
"An end to the violence is the important first step, but further steps are needed ... This includes, above all, respecting and guaranteeing the cultural and democratic rights of Kurds in Turkey," a German ministry spokesperson said in a statement. "As the federal government, we are ready to do what we can to support such a process."
The White House also welcomed Öcalan's disarmament call.
"It's a significant development and we hope that it will help assuage our Turkish allies about U.S. counter-ISIS partners in northeast Syria. We believe it will help bring peace to this troubled region," said Brian Hughes, spokesperson for the White House National Security Council.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres "welcomes" Öcalan's call to dissolve the terrorist group, calling it a "glimmer of hope," according to his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric.
"The Secretary-General welcomes this important development," Dujarric told reporters. "This represents a glimmer of hope which would lead to a resolution of a long-standing conflict."
KRG President Nechirvan Barzani also welcomed Öcalan's call.
"We warmly welcome Ocalan's message ... and we call on the PKK to adhere to and implement this message," Barzani said on X.
"We in the Kurdistan region fully support the peace process," he added, offering his support to ensure its success.
Öcalan said earlier that "all groups must lay down their arms and PKK must dissolve itself" in a declaration drawn up in his cell on Imrali prison island where he has been held in solitary confinement since 1999.
Earlier in February, pro-PKK Turkish lawmakers conveyed a message to Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani, the president's uncle and the veteran chief of the region's ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) also welcomed Öcalan's call.
"We think it as a responsible and necessary call at this stage to unite the Kurds and resolve issues through peaceful dialogue," Bafel Talbani, the chief of the PUK, said on X.
"We urge all parties to embrace this statement and take practical steps toward achieving comprehensive peace, seizing this historic opportunity," he added.
The PKK, designated a terrorist group by Türkiye, the United States and the European Union, took up arms against the Turkish state in 1984. More than 40,000 people have been killed in terrorist attacks since then.
The conflict was long fought mainly in rural areas of southeastern Türkiye but is now more focused on the Qandil Mountains, located roughly 40 kilometers (25 miles) southeast of the Turkish border in the KRG capital of Irbil.
Ankara has asked Iraq for more cooperation in combating the PKK, and Baghdad has banned the group from operating in the country, ordered all state institutions to refer to PKK as a banned group in official correspondence and set up two military bases in the Zakho region in April, which borders southern Türkiye.
