A momentous ceasefire declaration on Saturday stirred a mix of emotions in southeast Turkey and northern Iraq, where people bore the brunt of the 40-year conflict between Kurdish militants and the Turkish state.

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Making peace with the PKK could also lead to a big advance in Erdogan’s mission to stabilise Syria under a friendly new government, as the biggest threat to those new rulers is the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is dominated by Kurds and close to the PKK.

The militia wing of the Kurdistan Workers Party announced a cease-fire with immediate effect Saturday to halt decades of conflict between Turkey and the Kurds.

The mountains of northern Iraq have for years been a sanctuary for Kurdish militants fighting a decades-long insurgency against the government in neighboring Turkey.

The group, the P.K.K., made its declaration days after its long-imprisoned leader urged the movement to disarm and disband, but there are still many questions about the prospects for ending 40 years of deadly conflict.

Syrian Kurds gathered this week to listen to a message from jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan Outlawed Kurdish group the PKK has declared a ceasefire with Turkey after its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan called on the movement to lay down its arms and dissolve.