ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Officials and political figures from across Turkey on Monday welcomed the historical declaration from the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) to disband and lay down arms, ending a decades-old armed struggle against the Turkish state.

The PKK on Monday published the results of its recent seminal congress, announcing that the group has decided to dissolve and disband, ending an insurgency that spanned over four decades, after months of negotiations.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan lauded the announcement as “important”, stating that, they have now “crossed another critical threshold” toward the goal of a terror-free Turkey.

“We find the decision important in terms of strengthening the security of our country, the peace of our region, and the eternal brotherhood of our nation,” the Turkish president added.

Erdogan said that they expect this decision to cover all of the PKK’s “extensions”, especially in “northern Iraq [Kurdistan Region], Syria, and Europe.”

Devlet Bahceli, leader of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), whose proposal in October kickstarted the current peace process, also celebrated the announcement.

“The PKK calamity will come to an end. The bloody page that has been written with treachery for 47 years will, I hope and wish, be closed never to be opened again,” wrote Bahceli in a statement.

"The seeds of peace that have been sown with effort, patience and sacrifice in every region of the Turkish homeland have been watered with hope, finally budded and blossomed," he added, stating that Turkey now “stands at a historic threshold with its clear fortune and moral assets accumulated over centuries.”

During a speech to his party’s bloc in the parliament in October, Bahceli proposed allowing jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan to appear before the legislature and declare the dissolution of the PKK. The initiative gained momentum with a delegation of the pro-Kurdish Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) meeting Ocalan at Imrali prison multiple times, culminating in a peace address by the jailed leader in February, calling on his party to lay down arms and disband.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan described the PKK self-dissolution as “a historic and important decision,” adding that “practical steps will be taken after this decision,” which they will be following closely, during a joint press conference with his Syrian and Jordanian counterparts

“A crucial stage has been reached,” said Efkan Ala, deputy chairman of Erdogan’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), adding that “the mechanism related to the work to be done and the management of the process will be operated as necessary.”

The PKK’s announcement called 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 – an armed group long designated a terrorist organization by Ankara and its western allies – has fought for increased Kurdish rights in Turkey for decades predominantly engaging in armed struggle with Turkish forces from the mountainous borders of the Kurdish Region,Iraq, and Syria.

Aysegul Dogan, spokesperson for the mediating DEM Party, told reporters that with the disarmament of the PKK, “it seems everything that was shown as an obstacle... that was put on the table as justification to get in the way of a democratic solution for the Kurdish question has been lifted,” calling on Turkey to seize the “great opportunity.”

Imrali delegate and DEM Party MP Pervin Buldan, who played a key role and participated in all of the Imrali visits, urged the Turkish parliament to “step in,” stressing that the legislature has “great responsibilities... in terms of democratization,” following the PKK announcement.

Buldan then visited Selahattin Demirtas, former co-leader of the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP), predecessor to Buldan’s own DEM Party. Demirtas also hailed the announcement as a “historic step,” in a hand-written letter, stating that “now is the time to work hand in hand and sincerely for the realization of peace, prosperity, democracy, and freedoms, and for Turkey to grow in every aspect.”

Ali Mahir Basarir, deputy chairman of the People’s Republican Party (CHP), the second largest political force in Turkey, stated that “the parliament must lead” the process, stressing that “all the decisions that were taken... must be discussed and evaluated in the parliament.”

The announcement was met with enthusiasm from the public, with thousands rushing to the streets in Diyarbakir, Turkey’s largest Kurdish-majority city, in celebration of the highly-anticipated announcement.

The decision serves as a fresh breath of air to millions in Turkey—Turks and Kurds alike—who have endured decades upon decades of a bloody conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.