Turkey's Erdogan meets pro-Kurdish politicians as they seek to end a 40-year conflict

ISTANBUL — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Thursday held a first meeting with pro-Kurdish politicians who are working to bring an end to the 40-year conflict between Turkey and Kurdish militants.

Erdogan met Pervin Buldan and Sirri Sureyya Onder, parliamentary deputies for the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party, or DEM Party, at the presidential palace in Ankara.

''It was a very positive meeting, it went well. We are much more hopeful,'' Onder said.

In a statement after the meeting, the DEM Party said it was held ''in an extremely positive, constructive, productive and hopeful atmosphere for the future,'' emphasizing the ''vital importance'' of maintaining a ceasefire and strengthening political dialogue.

Also present at the 1½ hour meeting were intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin and Efkan Ala, deputy chairperson of Erdogan's party.

Buldan and Onder have been among those to visit the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, in a bid to build a framework to end fighting that has caused tens of thousands of deaths.

Abdullah Ocalan, whose PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey and most Western states, called for the group to disband and disarm in late February. Days later the PKK announced a ceasefire.

The PKK appealed for Ocalan to be released from the island prison where he has been held since 1999 to ''personally direct and execute'' a party congress that would lead to the group's dissolution.

Erdogan at the time described developments as an ''opportunity to take a historic step toward tearing down the wall of terror'' between Turks and Kurds.

Since then little concrete progress has been seen, with the government not publicly offering any incentives or proposals to the PKK. Instead, the Turkish military has kept up its campaign against PKK insurgents in northern Iraq while Turkish-backed Syrian groups combat PKK-linked fighters in northeast Syria.

The PKK's ceasefire came against the backdrop of fundamental changes in the region, including the reconfiguration of power in neighboring Syria after the toppling of President Bashar Assad, the weakening of the Hezbollah militant movement in Lebanon and the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

It also followed judicial pressure on the DEM Party, with several of its mayors being removed from office in recent months and replaced by government appointees.

Some believe the main aim of the reconciliation effort is for Erdogan's government to garner Kurdish support for a new constitution that would allow him to remain in power beyond 2028, when his term ends.

The ceasefire is the first sign of a breakthrough since peace talks between the PKK and Ankara broke down in the summer of 2015.