PKK militant group close to announcing decision to disband, Turkey’s pro-Kurdish party says

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) - A Kurdish militant group could soon announce a historic decision to disband and disarm as part of a new peace initiative with Turkey to end a 40-year insurgency, a pro-Kurdish party suggested Friday.

The armed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, whose leadership is based in northern Iraq, has already convened a long-awaited congress and could make an announcement "at any moment," according to Aysegul Dogan, a spokeswoman for the People's Equality and Democracy Party, or DEM.

The PKK held a congress between May 5-7 in two locations in northern Iraq, according to a report Friday by the Firat News Agency, a media outlet close to the group. The group said that "historic" decisions taken at the congress would be shared with the public soon.

The report also said a statement by PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan outlining his "perspectives and proposals" were read during the congress.

In February, Ocalan called on his group to lay down arms and dissolve itself in a bid to end the conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives since the 1980s.

The outlawed PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey and most Western states, announced a ceasefire days later but had set conditions to disband, including the establishment of a legal mechanism for peace talks.

The latest peace initiative was launched in October by Devlet Bahceli, a far-right Turkish politician who suggested that Ocalan, who is imprisoned on an island off Istanbul, could be granted parole if his group renounces violence and disbands.

Previous peace efforts between Turkey and the group have ended with failure - the most recent time in 2015.