Azerbaijan, Baku, April 19 / Trend, R. Hafizoglu /
Turkey gears up for the peace process and withdrawal of the PKK militants from the country, TRT Turk TV channel quotes Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as saying on Friday.
According to Erdogan, for over 30 years, the Turkish opposition and the terrorist organization PKK have supported each other.
"If there was no policy pursued by organizations such as the Republican People's Party, there would be no PKK terrorist organization," Erdogan said.
The conflict between Turkey and the PKK over the creation of an independent Kurdish state has continued for more than 25 years and claimed more than 40,000 lives. The PKK is recognised as a terrorist organisation by the UN and the European Union.
Most of the militants of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), who are Syrian citizens, left Turkey and moved to the north of Syria, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said earlier.
Earlier, imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan called on the organisation to lay down its weapons and leave the country.
Turkish authorities in turn promised that all PKK militants that have laid down their weapons will have a safe exit from the country.