Gul sees end to PKK militancy

ANKARA, Turkey, Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Turkey's diplomatic efforts with its neighbors will pressure the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party to end its militancy, the Turkish president said.

Turkish President Abdullah Gul said improved regional relations meant the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, would no longer be able to carry out its guerrilla activity, Turkish daily Today's Zaman reports.

"International cooperation won't allow this," he said.

Ankara moved toward a political reconciliation with the Kurdish minority by offering cultural and other concessions in an effort to silence the PKK.

Imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, for his part, called on militants in northern Iraq to surrender to Turkish authorities in so-called peace groups as part of a broader reconciliation effort.

Conservative lawmakers were critical, however, of the jubilant welcome offered to returning PKK members, prompting the government to suspend further returns from Europe.

Ankara submitted a motion to Parliament to consider a series of initiatives intended to find a political solution to the so-called Kurdish question.

Turkish lawmakers are expected to take up the Kurdish issue in sessions scheduled for next week.