"As long as the terrorist organisation... lays down arms there will be no need for the security forces to engage in such operations," Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters.

The separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) said Monday it was extending a truce, declared on August 13, until general elections, expected in June, to push for a peaceful solution of the 26-year conflict in southeast Turkey.

The group, listed as a terrorist organisation by Ankara and much of the international community, urged Turkey to stop military operations to pursue its militants and warned it would retaliate to "annihilation attacks."

Erdogan however stressed the army and the police would act if they obtained intelligence about PKK activities threatening public order and security.

"They will assess that intelligence and act... They will always carry out their duties," he said.

"Halting the struggle against terrorism in the country is out of the question," he added.

Boosted by its victory in a September 12 referendum on constitutional reform, Erdogan's government has launched a cautious, low-profile bid for a dialogue with the Kurds, seeking to cajole the PKK into permanently laying down arms and end the conflict peacefully.

Jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who retains influence over his rebels, appears engaged in the effort, with his lawyers acting as intermediaries and holding talks with him on the prison island of Imrali.

The PKK leadership, based in the mountains of neighbouring northern Iraq, reportedly extended the truce, heeding a letter from Ocalan which was conveyed to them with the help of Turkish officials.

Erdogan confirmed Wednesday that state officials had held also direct meetings with Ocalan, but rejected "bargaining with terrorists."

"The state exists to resolve problems... If one wants to resolve a problem or a deadlock, such steps will be taken," he said, without elaborating.

Bidding to resolve the conflict carries political risks for Erdogan ahead of next year's elections as many Turks remain hostile to reconciliation moves as concessions to violence.

The PKK prolonged the truce just a day after a suicide bomber blew himself up at a police patrol in the heart of Istanbul, wounding 15 officers and 17 civilians.

The rebel leadership denied responsibility for the attack, but the authorities Tuesday identified the bomber as a 24-year-old PKK militant who had joined the group in 2004.

Analysts said the suicide attack pointed at discord and rivalry among PKK ranks, with hardliners opposed to the truce acting outside the control of top commanders.

The PKK took up arms for self-rule in the Kurdish-majority southeast in 1984, sparking a conflict that has claimed about 45,000 lives.