A unilateral ceasefire with Turkish government would be observed as of this evening, a senior member of the Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK) in charge of foreign relations told Xinhua on Monday.
Abid Al-rahman Aljadarje said, "I can confirm that our group will observe a unilateral ceasefire as of this evening," but he didn't disclose how long the truce would last.
But Aljadarje conditioned the ceasefire with the response from the Turkish side, saying that "the ceasefire will be an open-ended one as long as Turkish troops exercise restraint. If they attack us, then we will defend ourself."
He also said that the PKK would soon release a statement within two days to explain what had happened in last few days.
Earlier in the day, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said that the PKK would announce a ceasefire with the Turkish government.
Talabani, a Kurd, told reporters at the airport in the Kurdish city of Sulaimaniyah that Kurdish rebels will announce a ceasefire this evening in the face of the mounting tension coming with Turkey's approval of a military incursion plan into Iraq targeting the group.
The office of Talabani in Baghdad also confirmed that the PKK would announce the ceasefire later in the day following Talabani's remarks.
On Wednesday, Turkish parliament passed a motion submitted by the Turkish government, giving green light for cross-border military operations into northern Iraq to fight against the PKK based there.
Source: Xinhua
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