"We believe that none of our problems is unresolvable and that there is room to resolve them without shedding blood... as long as we see democracy and law as an important tool," Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Cicek said after the meeting.

"We are in favour of continuing the dialogue. We hope that a new page will be opened in this context," he told reporters.

Cicek spoke after he and Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin met with leaders of Turkey's main Kurdish party, the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), which is sympathetic to the rebels fighting Ankara and backs their demand for Kurdish autonomy in the southeast.

The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), listed as a terrorist group by Ankara and much of the international community, has fought for self-rule in the Kurdish-majority southeast since 1984, in a conflict that has claimed some 45,000 lives.

Pointing at constitutional changes adopted at a referendum earlier this month, Cicek said Turkey should press ahead with fresh reform because "many of the current problems stem from the constitution."

BDP chairman Selahattin Demirtas stressed that a further constitutional overhaul should accomodate Kurdish demands for autonomy and broader linguistic rights.

"The atmoshere is positive... This meeting has created grounds for intensified efforts for a political solution" to the Kurdish conflict, he said.

Demirtas added that "certain contacts are being held" also with jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, but would not elaborate.

The Taraf daily reported Thursday that officials had been holding secret talks with Ocalan on the prison island of Imrali, where the rebel chieftain has been serving a life sentence since 1999.

The talks aim to cajole the PKK into extending an existing truce, discuss amensty for the rebels if they agree to lay down arms and other reforms to expand Kurdish freedoms, Taraf said.

Although behind bars, Ocalan retains influence over the PKK, often issuing guidelines to the rebels in statements released through his lawyers.

The PKK said Monday it was extending a unilateral ceasefire, announced on August 13, until next week when it would announce its next step.

Asked about the alleged talks with Ocalan, Cicek only said that Ankara had not changed its position on the issue.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month hinted at contacts with Ocalan, but stressed that "the government will never sit at the table and have talks with a terrorist organisation or its representatives."