Imprisoned militant leader Abdullah Ocalan on Thursday announced a call for his Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to dissolve itself.

The PKK leader's message was conveyed after a meeting with senior members of Turkey's left-wing, pro-Kurdish Equality and Democracy Party (DEM).

"Convene your congress and make a decision; all groups must lay down their arms and the PKK must dissolve itself," Ocalan was quoted as saying.

He called for a new "epoch of peace" and a "democratic society."

Why is Ocalan calling for the PKK to dissolve?

Ocalan has been serving a life sentence in solitary confinement on the island of Imrali near Istanbul since 1999 over a treason conviction.

The Thursday statement comes after Devlet Bahceli, who heads the far-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and is an ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, suggested in October Ocalan could be offered parole if the PKK were to reject violence and disband.

Ocalan has been visited twice by DEM lawmakers since December.

Erdogan could require support from DEM in order to stay in power as Turkey's constitution does not allow him to run for office again. The longtime ruler has served as president since 2014 and was prime minister from 2003 to 2014.

Erdogan currently lacks the necessary majority in parliament for a constitutional amendment that would allow him to run for a fourth presidential term in 2028.

The chairman of Erdogan's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), Efkan Ala, said the government expected the PKK to comply with Ocalan's call to disarm.

He said that Turkey would be "free of its shackles" if the PKK were to dissolve.

How is the world reacting to Ocalan's appeal?

German Foreign Ministry hailed Ocalan's call for the PKK to disband as an "historic chance" to bring to an end their decades-long insurgency against the Turkish state.

"An end to the violence is the important first step, but further steps are needed... This includes, above all, respecting and guaranteeing the cultural and democratic rights of Kurds in Turkey," the ministry said in a statement. "As the federal government, we are ready to do what we can to support such a process."

Meanwhile, Nechirvan Barzani, president of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, welcomed jailed Ocalan's call for the PKK, which is headquartered in the Kurdistan region, to lay down its weapons and dissolve.

"We warmly welcome Ocalan's message... and we call on the PKK to adhere to and implement this message," Barzani said on X. "We in the Kurdistan region fully support the peace process," he added, offering his support to ensure its success.

The commander of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) Mazloum Abdi also welcomed Ocalan's "historic" appeal. However, Abdi said Ocalan's call applied only to the PKK and was "not related to us in Syria."

The US also welcomed the announcement, while stressing the importance of the SDF, which has been backed by Washington in the fight against the so-called "Islamic State."

"It's a significant development and we hope that it will help assuage our Turkish allies about US counter-ISIS partners in northeast Syria. We believe it will help bring peace to this troubled region," said Brian Hughes, spokesman for the White House National Security Council.

What is the conflict with the PKK?

Kurds make up around a fifth of Turkey's population and also inhabit parts of Syria, Iraq and Iran.

The PKK has waged an insurgency in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated southeast since 1984. The conflict has claimed some 40,000 lives.

A previous round of peace talks between Ankara and the PKK collapsed in 2015.

The PKK has been designated a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

Turkey has also demanded the dissolution of the Kurdish-led People's Protection Units (YPG), which are the primary component of the SDF and have controlled parts of eastern Syria since the start of the country's civil war in 2011. Ankara considers the group to be an offshoot of the PKK.

A rebel offensive led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir ash-Sham (HTS) group overthrew Syrian former dictator Bashar Assad in December. Acting Syrian President and former HTS commander Ahmed al-Sharaa declared the dissolution of armed groups and the formation of a new Syrian army late in January.

Edited by: Sean M. Sinico