"We urge the Kurdish democratic confederation [that includes the PKK] to prolong ceasefire and the government — to stop carrying out police and military operations, in order to give the new parliament a chance to show force and will for continuation of process of the Kurdish question settlement," the statement obtained by RIA Novosti said.
Tensions in Turkey escalated in mid-summer 2015, when authorities launched a military campaign against PKK militants in northern Iraq. The campaign started after a terrorist attack organized on July 20 by the Islamic State (ISIL) near the Turkish-Syrian border and after PKK militants took the responsibility for the murders of Turkish police officers in South-Eastern provinces.
In early October, the PKK leadership called for its fighters to halt military activity until a November 1 parliamentary election. The announcement came after a twin suicide bomb attack outside a central train station in Ankara that killed 102 people.
