All Kurdish fighters in Iraq and Syria, including members of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), should lay down their arms following the disarmament appeal made by imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, said Ömer Çelik, spokesperson for Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), in a statement today.

On Thursday, PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan called on members of the Kurdish organization to surrender their weapons.

As reported by Euronews, Öcalan’s long-anticipated statement was read aloud by members of the pro-Kurdish People’s Equality and Democracy Party (DEM) during the “Call for Peace and Democratic Society” gathering held at the Elite World Hotel in Istanbul.

Earlier on Thursday, senior DEM officials met with Öcalan as part of renewed peace efforts between Ankara and the Kurdish group, which the Turkish government considers illegal and banned.

The appeal could potentially bring an end to a conflict that has lasted over four decades and claimed tens of thousands of lives.

It is worth noting that 75-year-old Abdullah Öcalan has been imprisoned on İmralı Island, off the coast of Istanbul, since 1999, after being convicted of treason.