Former Prime Minister of Italy, Massimo D'Alema, told ANSA that the message by Abdullah Öcalan was a “positive fact, a courageous message that I hope will be taken up by the Turkish government, by President Erdoğan, as a concrete possibility to pacify a long and painful conflict.”

D’Alema added: "On the other hand, I hope there is an opening to the recognition of the rights of the Kurds when they renounce the armed struggle."

Massimo D’Alema was Prime Minister when Abdullah Öcalan arrived in Italy on 12 November 1998, hoping to bring the Kurdish issue to the European table.