Turkey in talks offer for Kurdish militants

Turkey opened the door to talks with the Kurdish militants it brands terrorists yesterday, raising hopes of a push to end a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people and stunted development in its mainly Kurdish south-east.

Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin said talks would be held with the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militant group, Turkey’s main domestic security threat, which took up arms almost three decades ago and seeks Kurdish autonomy.

Mr Ergin’s comments followed the end of a 68-day hunger strike by hundreds of PKK militants in prisons across Turkey.

REUTERS