ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced Friday that it “successfully” held a congress and will soon release the results in response to a historical call by the party’s jailed leader, Abdullah Ocalan, for an end of hostilities.

Ocalan, 75, in late February called on his party to lay down arms against the Turkish state and dissolve itself in a historic declaration from Imrali Prison, where he has been held for 26 years.

Such a move would end the decades-long conflict between the Turkish state and the Kurdish group that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

“The PKK’s 12th congress was held between May 5-7… The results of the congress, extensive and detailed information and documents regarding the decisions taken, will be shared with the public soon,” the PKK said in a statement.

"The congress was held in parallel in two different areas with delegates representing all areas of work,” the statement read, detailing it was held to heed Ocalan’s call.

The PKK said the congress honored late Sirri Sureyya Onder, a pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) MP and Imrali delegate, who died last week at the age of 62. 

Onder, along with fellow DEM Party MP Pervin Buldan, led a delegation that visited the Imrali prison island multiple times in hopes of brokering a permanent peace agreement between the PKK and the Turkish state after decades of conflict, after an October proposal by Devlet Bahceli, a prominent Turkish politician and party leader.

The PKK described Onder as “one of those who worked the hardest” and called on all sides to "help each other for the prevalence of peace and a democratic society.”

“Onder was a friend of the leader Apo for 12 years,” the PKK said. Ocalan is also known as 'Apo', meaning 'uncle' in Kurdish.

The recent developments in the Turkish political scene regarding the PKK serve as a fresh breath of air to millions in Turkey—Turks and Kurds alike—who are now once again looking ahead with renewed hope that an enduring solution will be found to permanently resolve a bloody conflict that has spanned decades and left thousands of grieving families in its wake.

Updated at 13:05 with information regarding the conference honoring the late Sirri Sureyya Onder