In a statement on Friday, Spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Esmaeil Baqaei welcomed the PKK leader’s call for the group to disarm.

He said the decision is a key step toward renouncing violence.

The Iranian spokesman said Iran welcomes any process that would stop acts of terrorism and strengthen security in neighboring Turkey.

Tehran hopes that the development would have positive outcomes for the region, he added.

In a momentous message from prison, Ocalan called on the PKK to convene a congress and take the decision to lay down arms and dissolve itself. The message, relayed by Turkey’s pro-Kurdish DEM Party officials, was part of a new initiative to end a decades-long war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

The PKK, which is considered a terrorist organization by Ankara and its Western allies, has led a decades-long rebellion against the Turkish state.