President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan welcomed the PKK terrorist group's decision to disband, calling it an important step that will pave a new era for the country.
"The doors of the new era will open once weapons are laid down," the president told a news conference following the Cabinet meeting in the capital, Ankara.
"We consider the decision taken to be important for strengthening our country's security and the eternal brotherhood of our nation," he said, noting that Ankara regards this statement as a decision that also covers all extensions of the organization in Iraq, Syria and Europe.
He noted that the intelligence agency and other relevant units would closely monitor the upcoming process with great care to prevent any setbacks and to ensure that promises are kept. He continued by saying that they would share more detailed statements with the public in the coming days
Erdoğan also said Türkiye welcomes the cease-fire following recent tensions between Pakistan and India.
"Türkiye's stance in such crises is clear: We always side with peace, stability, diplomacy and dialogue," he said.
Erdoğan also urged parties to take advantage of recent contacts to strike a deal toward peace in Ukraine, after speaking with the country's leader.
"I would like to reiterate that we are ready to contribute to these meetings and we will be happy to host them," Erdoğan said, referring to direct Ukraine-Russia talks expected to take place in Istanbul later this week.
"A new window of opportunity has opened with the recent contacts. We hope that this opportunity will not be wasted," Erdoğan said after talking with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Zelenskyy said he wanted U.S. President Donald Trump to attend the direct peace talks with Russia, after the U.S. leader said he was "thinking" of going.
