PKK leader says he’s still hoping for peace with agreement Turkey

The outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan said Monday that he was still hopeful about a peace deal with the Turkish state, but argued that Ankara needed to shift the process into a new gear.

“The process that we started last year has great meaning,” Öcalan said in a statement relayed by Peace and Democracy (BDP) lawmakers who visited him in prison.

“I still have hope for this process,” he said, warning however that “meaningful and result-oriented negotiations” were urgently needed to avoid a collapse of efforts to end the three-decade clash that has left more than 40,000 dead.

“I have presented my proposals to the state both in writing and verbally. I am waiting for the state’s response for meaningful, deep negotiations,” Öcalan said, without elaborating.

In March, Öcalan declared a ceasefire after months of clandestine negotiations with the Turkish secret service.