Murat Karayilan said time was running out for the Turkish authorities to pursue a peaceful solution amid suspicions that Turkey was drumming up support from Syria and Iran to rout the guerrilla group, which has entrenched itself in the mountains along Iraq's border with Turkey and Iran. Speaking to the English daily The Independent, which runs the story in today's edition, Karayilan said that "During all of [our] ceasefires, the Turkish state has used these periods to try to surround and destroy us."

And he adds that "qe will wait another 15 days. If something positive develops, we will extend the unilateral ceasefire. If there are no concrete steps, we will evaluate developments and do what we have to do to defend ourselves."