Abdullah Ocalan's statement came ahead of Friday's ceremony for a first tranche of PKK militants to lay down weapons two months after the group said it was ending a decades-long armed struggle against the Turkish state.

The conflict, which began in 1984, has claimed more than 40,000 lives and long strained Turkey's relations with its Kurdish minority and regional neighbours.

"The details of disarmament will be determined and implemented swiftly. Establishing a disarmament mechanism will advance the process," Ocalan said in a video message.

Friday's ceremony will be in Iraqi Kurdistan, where most of the PKK's fighters have spent the past decade holed up in the northern mountains near the Turkish border.

"This represents a voluntary transition from the phase of armed conflict to the phase of democratic politics and law," said Ocalan, who in February made a historic call for the PKK to disarm and seek democratic ways to fight for the rights of Turkey's Kurdish minority.

"I believe in the power of politics and social peace, not weapons. And I urge you to put this principle into practice," the 76-year-old said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan expressed confidence in the disarmament process.

"We are entering a phase where we will receive positive news in the coming days. We hope this auspicious process will end successfully as soon as possible, without mishaps or sabotage attempts," he told members of his ruling AKP on Wednesday.

Ocalan, who has been serving life on Imrali prison island near Istanbul since 1999, said the creation of a parliamentary oversight commission to manage the peace process would be "crucial".

- New democratic manifesto -

"The overall process of voluntary disarmament and the comprehensive commission envisioned to be established by the Turkish Grand National Assembly (parliament) are crucial. Care and sensitivity are essential," he said.

The former militant said he had written a new "democratic society" manifesto for the shift from armed struggle to democratic politics.

"Achieving the goal of peace and a democratic society is possible through a positive integrationist perspective," he said.

"The PKK has abandoned its nation-state goal, and by abandoning this fundamental goal, it has also abandoned its fundamental war strategy."

The pro-Kurdish DEM party, which has played a key role in facilitating contact between Ocalan and Ankara, has submitted a proposal to set up a parliamentary commission, telling AFP it would likely be in place by mid-July.

Speaking to DEM lawmakers who visited him on Imrali island on Sunday, Ocalan said the commission would "play a major role" in successfully directing the process.

On Monday, the same lawmakers held an hour-long meeting with Erdogan and his spy chief Ibrahim Kalin to discuss the next steps.

Kalin then went to Baghdad on Tuesday for high-level talks on the logistics of the disarmament process, a senior Iraqi security official told AFP.

At the weekend, Erdogan said peace efforts would gain momentum with the start of the disarmament process.

"The process will gain a little more speed when the terrorist organisation starts to implement its decision to lay down arms," he said.

Some observers expect that as the disarmament process unfolds, Ankara will show a new openness to the Kurds, an ethnic minority with a distinct culture and language who make up about 20 percent of Turkey's population of 85 million.