We welcome Abdullah Ocalan’s call today to the PKK and the groups close to it to lay down their weapons and dissolve the PKK.

It creates the historic opportunity to break the decades-long cycle of terror, violence and revenge, a cycle that has cost tens of thousands of people their lives.

Ending the violence is the important first step but further steps will have to follow on the path to a viable solution for the people in Turkey. This will above all include respecting and guaranteeing the cultural and democratic rights of the Kurds in Turkey.

The Turkish Parliament has a key role to play in shaping this political process and in legally enshrining compromise solutions once they are reached.

We, the Federal Government, stand ready to do what we can to support such a process.