Head of Government of Spain's Basque Autonomy Trusts ETA's Plans to Disarm

The Basque Government provides credibility to the reported plans of the Basque terrorist group ETA to disarm, according to Inigo Urkullu, the head of the Basque government.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The government of Spain's Basque Autonomous Community believes in the reported plans of the Basque terrorist group ETA to disarm, Inigo Urkullu, the head of the Basque government, said Friday.

Earlier in the day, Spanish media reported that the group would announce a plan of final disarmament soon.

"The Basque Government provides credibility to this possibility of final disarmament… I ask all the concerned institutions, especially the governments of Spain and France for broadmindedness and direct communication channels, oriented at achieving the historic objective," Urkullu said, as quoted by the Cadena SER broadcaster, speaking about the ETA's announcement.

ETA, or Euzkadi Ta Askatasuna (Basque Country and Freedom) is an armed group founded on July 31, 1959. Since then the activities of the group have claimed lives of 860 people. In 2011 ETA announced a "definitive cessation of its armed activity."

Spanish authorities have already responded to the group's plans to disarm, for example Education Minister Inigo Mendez de Vigo said that Madrid would consider the situation concerning the disarmament plans with care.