ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) announced Monday that the group had agreed to disband and dissolve after releasing the result's of the party's 12th congress, which was held last week.

The PKK said they would “end all activities” and armed struggle against Turkey.

“The Congress dissolved the party’s organizational structure and ended armed struggle, and ended all activities under the name of the PKK,” the PKK said in a statement. 

“The decision to lay down arms and dissolution is for a long-term democratic peace solution," the statement continued.

The PKK said their decision to disband will “lay a strong foundation for a lasting peace and a democratic solution” and detailed that “at this stage, Turkey needs to play its role with historical responsibility.”

“We are calling on the [Turkish] government, the main opposition parties, the political parties that have representatives in the parliament, the civil society organizations, and all the sides to carry the responsibility to enter the peace process and a democratic society," the PKK said.

Omer Celik, spokesperson of Turkey's ruling AK Party, said that the PKK’s "decision to dissolve and lay down arms is an important step.”

"If the new PKK decision is fully implemented, shutting down all PKK branches and illegal structures, it will be a turning point," the AK Party spokesman continued.

The most recent prospect of disbandment and a lasting peace deal began in earnest when the PKK's founding father Ocalan, imprisoned on the Turkish island of Imrali since 1999, met with representatives of Turkey's People’s Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, with talks eventually leading to the leader making a historic call for the group to lay down its arms in late February.

The PKK is an armed group that has fought for increased Kurdish rights in Turkey for decades. The group has long been designated a terrorist organization by Ankara.