His Highness the Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the strategic relations between the two countries and ways to develop and strengthen them. They also touched on key regional and international developments of common concern, primarily the developments in the Gaza Strip and the occupied Palestinian territories.

This came during a phone call His Highness the Amir received Friday from the Turkish president.

During the call, the Amir welcomed the commencement of the agreement to disarm the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), commending the constructive and impactful role of President Erdogan and Turkiye's efforts in fostering civil peace and promoting regional stability.

President Erdogan on Friday expressed his hope that the PKK's disarmament will be a good omen on the road to achieving the goal of a "terror-free Turkiye." Turkish news agency Anadolu quoted Erdogan in a post on his X account, saying: "I hope that this important step taken today on our path toward a terror-free Turkiye will be a good one. May God grant us success in achieving our goals for the security of our nation, and establishing lasting peace in our region."

The PKK decided on May 12 to dissolve itself and lay down its arms in response to the call of its founder, Abdullah Ocalan, who is serving a life sentence.

Thirty PKK fighters destroyed their weapons at a symbolic ceremony in Iraqi Kurdistan Friday, two months after the Kurdish rebels ended their decades-long armed struggle against the Turkish state.

The ceremony marked a major step in the transition of the PKK from armed insurgency to democratic politics as part of a broader effort to end one of the region's longest-running conflicts.

The PKK's disarmament also grants President Erdogan the distinction of being the Turkish leader who managed to draw a line under a bloody conflict that has cost more than 40,000 lives and wrought havoc in Turkiye and beyond.

Turkiye's pro-Kurdish DEM party Friday hailed a "new era" following the historic disarmament ceremony.

"With the PKK's arms burning ceremony, we are entering a new era for a solution to the Kurdish issue and the construction of a democratic Turkiye," the party said in a statement, describing it as "a turning point" for the Middle East.

The party, which played a key role in facilitating contacts between Ankara and jailed PKK founder Abdullah Ocalan, also filed a request for the release of Selahattin Demirtas, the former head of the pro-Kurdish HDP party, which later became DEM.

Kurdish PKK fighters want to return to Turkiye and enter democratic politics, one of the group's joint leaders told AFP Friday.

In an interview with AFP, Bese Hozat, one of the PKK's two top leaders, said: "The Turkish state needs to grant us the right to enter democratic politics.. We are ready and willing to go to Turkiye to engage in democratic politics," she said.

"A comprehensive decision has been made to abandon the armed struggle and to continue the struggle for democracy through lawful political means and legal grounds," Hozat said.

But for the PKK's metamorphosis from armed struggle to democratic politics to be a success, she continued, it was essential for Turkiye to release Ocalan — known to his followers as "Apo" (uncle).