Turkey’s prime minister welcomed the leader of Iraq’s autonomous north to his country’s own Kurdish-dominated territory for the first time Saturday, in a visit designed to kick a stalled peace process.

Turkey's prime minister welcomed the leader of Iraq's autonomous north to his country's own Kurdish-dominated territory for the first time Saturday, in a visit designed to kick a stalled peace process.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan greeted Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani in the Kurds' heartland of Diyarbakir, southeast Turkey, ahead of a series of joint engagements including officiating at a mass wedding.

Barzani has visited the capital of Ankara many times but Saturday's meeting was described by Erdogan as "historic" and a "crowning moment" in overcoming a decades-old conflict with the banned Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

Progress in talks has stalled following a ceasefire called by jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan in March. His fighters suspended a promised withdrawal from Turkish soil in September, accusing Ankara of failing to keep to the terms of the bargain in giving greater rights.

The Turkish army reported on Friday that one of its convoys had been attacked, allegedly by PKK rebels, for the first time in months in southeastern Nusaybin district on the Syrian border.