Labour MEP Alfred Sant has added his name to a petition by a group of members of the European Parliament calling on the European Union to remove the PKK from the list of terrorist organisations.

The petition has been hit by bad timing, with Turkey blaming the PKK (Kurdish Workers’ Party) for a car bomb in Ankara yesterday which killed at least 28.

"Yesterday's attack was directly targeting Turkey and the perpetrator is the YPG and the divisive terrorist organization PKK. All necessary measures will be taken against them," Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said in a televised speech.

The political arm of the YPG, denied involvement in the bombing, while a senior member of the PKK said he did not know who was responsible.

The MEPs' petition reads: "The perspective of achieving a peaceful and democratic solution to the Kurdish issue in Turkey is under serious threat. Violence is escalating and poses severe risks to the stability for Turkey as well as for the Middle East. In Turkey we are more and more facing an outbreak of violence which pushes back the idea of a peace process and weakens the fight against Daech.

The perspective of achieving a peaceful and democratic solution to the Kurdish issue in Turkey is under serious threat

The perspective of achieving a peaceful and democratic solution to the Kurdish issue in Turkey is under serious threat. Violence is escalating and poses severe risks to the stability for Turkey as well as for the Middle East. In Turkey we are more and more facing an outbreak of violence which pushes back the idea of a peace process and weakens the fight against Daech.

We, the undersigned parliamentarians, call the Council of the European Union to revise the list and to remove the PKK from the proscribed list of terrorist organisations.