Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned Kurdish leader, called on his militant group on Thursday to lay down its arms and dissolve as part of a new bid to end a four-decade long conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

The jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdish militant group, the PKK called on Thursday for the group to lay down its arms and dissolve itself, in a letter read by Turkey's pro-Kurdish DEM Party. Zachary Goelman produced this report.

While Ocalan's call raises hopes for ending decades of conflict with Turkey, questions remain about the future of Kurdish politics in Syria and the broader region.