'PKK must remain on terror list': EP rapporteur Piri

BRUSSELS

European Parliament rapporteur for Turkey, Kati Piri, has said the PKK must remain on the list of terrorist organizations.

"At this point, the priority should be the immediate laying down of arms," Piri told Anadolu Agency on Thursday.

"The PKK is in the terrorist list of the EU, and I do not believe that their removal from the list at a time when they are engaged in deadly attacks would be correct."

Piri’s comments come following of the collapse of the "solution process" as a result of recent PKK killings of police officers and soldiers in Turkey.

"I condemn the return to violence by the PKK, and the attacks on security forces and civilians. The barricades and the trenches are unacceptable," Piri said.

What is commonly known in Turkey as the “solution process” aimed to end the 30-year conflict between Turkey and the PKK, considered a terrorist organization by Turkey, the EU and the U.S.

It began in 2013 but stalled after renewed violence broke out last year.