ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) leader Bafel Talabani on Tuesday announced his party's support for the peace efforts between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

Talabani’s remarks followed a meeting he held at his Sulaimani headquarters, with representatives of the main pro-Kurdish party - the Peoples' Equality and Democracy Party (DEM Party) - that has been facilitating the peace process between Turkey and the PKK In recent months.

The delegation met with the jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan twice in Imrali prison in recent months. Its members “conveyed the greetings and messages” of Ocalan to Talabani, said the PUK leader in a statement on Facebook.

They also shared “their decisions, policies, and options” in light of “the political events in the region, the peace process with Turkey, and the discussions they had with Ocalan,” the statement added.

For his part, Talabani “warmly welcomed the delegation, expressed his views and explained the PUK’s strategy” with regard to “the new phase of peace in Turkey.” He further affirmed his party’s support for “any initiative that protects the rights of our people in Turkey.”

Deputy Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government and senior PUK member, Qubad Talabani, also reaffirmed the party's stance in a Facebook post on Tuesday. He declared that the PUK “will support the peaceful resolution to the Kurdish issue with all its ability and will proudly fulfill any national duty” in this effort.

The DEM Party’s meetings in Sulaimani followed earlier discussions they held in Erbil with the Kurdistan Region’s President, Nechirvan Barzani, and the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, Masoud Barzani.

The key visit to the Kurdistan Region comes after the DEM Party had on February 8 stated that Ocalan is preparing to make a "historic call" aimed at finding a comprehensive and permanent solution to the Kurdish issue in Turkey, while promoting the establishment of a democratic Turkey.

Observers believe the Ocalan might ask the PKK to lay down its arms. However, the PKK has expressed that it will not heed such calls from Ocalan unless he is allowed to physically meet with their leadership and is released from jail.

Founded in 1978, the PKK initially advocated for the establishment of an independent Kurdistan but now seeks autonomy. Turkey, the European Union, and the United States classify the group as a terrorist organization.