ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared Wednesday that "the era of terrorism, weapons, violence, and illegality is over" following a historical decision by its domestic foe, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), to lay down arms against the Turkish state after a four-decade-long insurgency that claimed tens of thousands of lives on both sides.

Speaking in Ankara, Erdogan added that his country has entered a new phase in its fight to eliminate terrorism.

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.

"The era of terrorism, weapons, violence, and illegality is now over. Seeking other paths when legitimate and acceptable ones exist is not only irrational but also contrary to the spirit of the times. No one can claim otherwise,” President Erdogan said.

The Turkish president detailed that “with the separatist organization's announcement that it has decided to disband and surrender its weapons, we have entered a new phase in our efforts to achieve a Turkey free of terrorism,” Erdogan said.

“In the more than forty years since the organization began its activities, all members of our nation, Turks, Kurds, and others, have suffered and lost loved ones. Terrorism has not only hurt our nation. It has also dealt a heavy blow to our economy.”

Long designated a terrorist organization by Ankara and its Western allies, the PKK was an armed group that 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.

The PKK’s announcement came after a February call by Ocalan, in which he urged the party to lay down arms and disband, arguing that it was time for the Kurdish struggle to be moved to a dialogue-based, democratic, and political arena.

Ocalan on Tuesday thanked his party’s leadership for heeding his call to disband and dissolve.

“On this occasion, I respectfully salute the decisions taken at the [PKK’s] historic 12th congress and the messages for the upcoming period,” read the message from Ocalan, published by PKK-affiliated media.

Ocalan has been serving a life sentence at Imrali prison, a small but high-security facility on Imrali Island in the Sea of Marmara, since February 1999.

The recent major developments across Turkey’s political landscape serve as a fresh breath of air to millions in Turkey and beyond—Turks and Kurds alike—who have endured decades upon decades of a bloody conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.