Fighters with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) line up to put their weapons into a pit during a ceremony in Sulaimaniyah, in Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region | AFP The outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has begun laying down its arms,

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday called for full support of the disarmament of Kurdish militants that began with a handover of the first batch of weapons by Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) forces,

For the first time in four decades, the Kurdistan Workers Party, known as the PKK, is laying down its arms and says it will end its insurgency against Turkey. The separatist group’s disbandment comes after its imprisoned leader announced an end to its 41-year armed struggle and a transition to democratic politics.

Turkish central bank Governor Fatih Karahan said policymakers are closely watching deposit preferences among local savers, signaling officials are likely to approach potential interest-rate cuts cautiously.

The crackdown tightens Erdogan's two-decade grip on power at a time that Turkey's influence in the Middle East and Europe has grown. For this reason, diplomats and analysts say, it has garnered only muted criticism from Western allies as a threat to democracy even as street protests erupted in the spring.

Despite Ankara’s tense relationship with Israel and current diplomatic freeze, some experts believe Turkey’s role in Syrian-Israeli dynamics could grow over time.