Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with lawmakers from the pro-Kurdish DEM party to discuss next steps after Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants agreed to a truce with authorities, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

DEM, Turkey's third-largest party, is playing a key role in brokering a nascent peace deal between the government and the PKK's imprisoned founder Abdullah Ocalan. The Kurdish militant group is expected to begin handing over its weapons as early as this week.

The meeting, which lasted just over an hour, brought together Erdogan, a senior official from the ruling Justice and Development Party, Efkan Ala, intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin, and DEM lawmakers Pervin Buldan and Mithat Sancar.

After the meeting, DEM issued a brief statement saying that their delegation had shared views and proposals on the new stage of the process and the steps to be taken. Buldan called the meeting historic and said before it that the process was entering a new phase in which consultations were needed. Sancar stressed the importance of the new phase, noting that the meeting would serve to exchange views and outline the upcoming demands.

On Sunday, the two DEM deputies had what they said was a “very fruitful” meeting with Öcalan on Imrali Island. The imprisoned 76-year-old founder of the PKK also described the upcoming dialogue with Erdogan as “historic.” According to him, a newly established parliamentary committee will play a crucial role in regulating the peace process.

The meeting took place at a time when the PKK is preparing a ceremony in Iraqi Kurdistan to begin the destruction of the first batch of weapons. This is expected to happen around July 10-12. Erdogan said the move would boost peace efforts with the Kurds. The disarmament process is expected to unfold in stages over the coming months. | BGNES