The PKK's jailed leader says in video address that his movement no longer seeks a nation state ahead of ceremony to lay down arms

The DEM, Turkey’s third-biggest party, has played a key role in facilitating the emerging peace deal. The DEM has submitted a proposal to set up a parliamentary commission, which the 76-year-old militant on Sunday said would play “play a major role” in overseeing the process.

ISTANBUL (Reuters) -Turkey's pro-Kurdish DEM party will meet President Tayyip Erdogan on Monday, seeking to move along a peace process between the Turkish state and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group.

In May, the terror group PKK decided to dissolve and lay down its arms. The announcement followed a February statement by Ocalan, who called for the dissolution of the PKK and its affiliated groups, urging an end to the armed campaign that has lasted more than four decades.

Turkey’s pro-Kurdish DEM Party says the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) will take a first formal step toward disarmament on Friday. It follows Wednesday's publication of jailed founder Abdullah Öcalan's call to abandon armed struggle against the Turkish state.

It is part of a larger process in which the PKK is moving to lay down its arms.The PKK had said it would lay down its arms and disband back in May. However, it is not clear when this process will begin and how long it will take.

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Wednesday met with Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji in Erbil to discuss key security developments, including the anticipated disarmament of Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) fighters and broader regional developments.

Türkiye’s Treasury and Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek has stated that the disarmament of the terrorist PKK will lead to “massive economic gains” for