Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix
Around 300 local and international media representatives will be accredited at the Media Centre established by the Baku City Circuit Operations Compan...
PKK has declared a ceasefire with Türkiye after its jailed leader, Abdullah Öcalan, urged the movement to lay down its arms and dissolve itself.
In a statement on Saturday, the PKK expressed hope that Turkey would release Öcalan, who has been held in solitary confinement since 1999, so he can lead the disarmament process.
The announcement follows Öcalan’s recent call to end four decades of armed conflict in southeastern Turkey, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives. Öcalan highlighted the importance of paving the way for democratic politics and Kurdish-Turkish brotherhood.
Öcalan—affectionately known as 'Apo' by Kurdish nationalists—met with MPs from a pro-Kurdish party this week on İmralı, the island in the Sea of Marmara, southwest of Istanbul, where he is imprisoned.
"In order to pave the way for the implementation of leader Apo's call for peace and democratic society, we are declaring a ceasefire effective from today," the PKK executive committee said in a statement on Saturday, quoted by the pro-PKK ANF news agency.
"None of our forces will take armed action unless attacked," it added.
The group stated that Öcalan’s call should not be seen as an end, but rather as 'the beginning of an era of peace and democratic society,' emphasizing that only Leader Apo can assume the leadership of this new process.
"Leader Apo must personally oversee and lead the process to ensure its successful implementation, paving the way for Turkey and the Middle East's democratization through a democratic resolution of the Kurdish question," - the statement reads.
The PKK - which stands for the Kurdistan Workers' Party - said Ocalan "must be granted with conditions to live and work in physical freedom and be able to establish unhindered relationships with anyone he wants, including his friends".
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan thanked Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli for initiating the process and described Öcalan’s call as a historic opportunity. 'This is a historic opportunity to dismantle the wall of terrorism that has divided our thousand-year brotherhood,' he said.
He also assured that the government would remain vigilant against potential provocations during the process, emphasizing that all necessary precautions would be taken.
"A Türkiye free of terrorism will be a victory for all 85 million people—regardless of whether they are Turkish, Kurdish, Arab, Alevi, Sunni, or from the opposition," he added.
AnewZ has learned that India has once again blocked Azerbaijan’s application for full membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, while Pakistan’s recent decision to consider diplomatic relations with Armenia has been coordinated with Baku as part of Azerbaijan’s peace agenda.
A day of mourning has been declared in Portugal to pay respect to victims who lost their lives in the Lisbon Funicular crash which happened on Wednesday evening.
A Polish Air Force pilot was killed on Thursday when an F-16 fighter jet crashed during a training flight ahead of the 2025 Radom International Air Show.
At least eight people have died and more than 90 others were injured following a catastrophic gas tanker explosion on a major highway in Mexico City’s Iztapalapa district on Wednesday, authorities confirmed.
Around 300 local and international media representatives will be accredited at the Media Centre established by the Baku City Circuit Operations Company to cover this year’s Formula 1 Azerbaijan Grand Prix.
Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Kobakhidze said during a press briefing in Adjara that some non-governmental organisations (NGOs) have engaged in anti-state activities and attempted to instigate revolutionary processes with the support of foreign funding.
European Union Enlargement Commissioner Marta Kos has set off on Wednesday for a three-day visit to Azerbaijan and Armenia. The trip comes at a pivotal moment for EU engagement in the South Caucasus and aims to support the Armenia–Azerbaijan peace process.
Türkiye’s largest technology festival, TEKNOFEST 2025, opened in İstanbul on Wednesday. The five-day event is organised by the Türkiye Technology Team (T3) Foundation in cooperation with the Ministry of Industry and Technology.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment