Türkiye to monitor PKK’s steps following decision to disband, says FM Fidan

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said on Monday that there are practical steps to be taken following the PKK’s decision to disband itself, and that Ankara will closely monitor them, Anadolu news agency reported.

If the decision is implemented "sincerely, it will be very beneficial for everyone, for our future," Fidan said at a joint news conference with his Syrian and Jordanian counterparts in Ankara, according to Anadolu.

Fidan said President Erdogan would comment on the matter later in the day.

The Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant-political group, which has been locked in bloody conflict with the Turkish state for more than four decades, decided to disband and end its armed struggle. More than 40,000 people have been killed in the conflict since the PKK launched its insurgency in 1984. It is designated a terrorist group by Turkiye and its Western allies. 

Announcing the move, PKK said it “has completed its historic mission” and “brought the Kurdish issue to a point of solving it through democratic politics.”