New York: United Nations Secretary-General Ant³nio Guterres welcomed the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)’s announcement of its dissolution, considering the decision another important step towards resolving a protracted conflict.

According to National Iraqi News Agency, Turkish media quoted UN spokesman St©phane Dujarric, at a press conference held at UN Headquarters in New York, as saying that Guterres welcomed the PKK’s decision to disband and lay down its arms.

Dujarric expressed Guterres’ confidence that implementing this decision would represent “another important step towards resolving a protracted conflict.”

On Monday, the PKK announced its dissolution and lay down its arms in response to a call by its founder, Abdullah ‚¬€œcalan, who is serving a life sentence in Turkey.

At the end of last February, ‚¬€œcalan called for the dissolution of all PKK-affiliated groups and an end to its armed activities, which have continued for more than 40 years.