No negotiations, PKK has to lay down arms: Turkish PM

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The government will not conduct any negotiations with the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told reporters today, adding that the PKK’s disarmament was the only way to end terror.

"Nobody can make terrorism an issue of negotiation," Erdoğan said. "We will end this, sooner or later. This is non-negotiable. There is only one thing to do: Terrorists need to lay down their arms."

"Security forces will halt operations when the PKK lays down ams," Erdoğan added. "Security forces are not fans of operations either. They only conduct these operations when problems occur."

Earlier in the day, pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) leader Selahattin Demirtaş called on the PKK to lay down its arms and for an end to military operations. (Hurriyet Daily News)