"We are ready to observe a ceasefire and opt for a peaceful and democratic settlement to the Kurdish issues in Turkey," the group's second-in-command, Murad Karialan, told AFP

He said the offer came in response to "many requests by the government of Kurdistan of Iraq and the other Kurdish circles, and responding to the US State Department."

"There must be a political project so that we can start dialogue," Karialan added.

"We are ready for a ceasefire on September 1 coinciding with World Peace Day. Turkey should be ready to respond and flexible in this regard," he added.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on Saturday assured Turkish leaders that his country will not be a sanctuary for the PKK.

"We will not allow Iraq to serve as a base for the PKK," Maliki reportedly told Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a telephone conversation.

Maliki also indicated that Iraq would continue to work with the United States and neighboring Turkey in its fight against the outlawed PKK, considered a terrorist organization by Ankara, Washington and the European Union.

Turkey last month threatened to intervene militarily at the Iraqi border against PKK camps there if Baghdad and Washington failed to take action.

Turkey has long complained about the PKK using camps in northern Iraq as rear bases for its attacks in southeast Turkey, where it is fighting for Kurdish self-rule.

Thousands of PKK members have settled in northern Iraq's Kurdistan region since 1999, when the group declared a ceasefire after the arrest of the separatist movement's chief, Abdullah Ocalan, who is serving a life prison sentence.

The ceasefire was broken in June 2004. Fighting between Turkish security forces and PKK rebels has claimed more than 37,000 lives since the start of the insurrection in 1984.

Karialan made a similar offer in June last year, saying "We appeal to the Turkish government, asking it to end military operations in order to open the path of dialogue, and we are ready, on our side, to decree a ceasefire."