The Basque separatist group ETA called a truce limited to the Spanish region of Catalonia today in an unexpected move.
A television grab shows masked ETA guerrillas reading an announcement today.
Europa Press quoted an ETA spokesman as saying the truce was called with the "desire to strengthen the ties between the Basque and Catalan peoples, based on respect, non-interference and solidarity."
Like the Basque Country, nationalist leaders in Spain's largely autonomous Catalonia region surrounding Barcelona seek greater self rule from the central government in Madrid.
It would be the first truce of any kind by ETA since it announced the end of a 14-month ceasefire in November 1999. After that unilateral ceasefire, which applied to all of Spain, ETA launched its first deadly attack in January 2000 and has been active ever since.
ETA has been relatively quiet in recent months amid a crackdown by Spanish and French police. ETA's tally of three killings in 2003 was its lowest since 1973 with the exception of the ceasefire year of 1999.
ETA, listed as a terrorist organisation by the United States and the European Union, has killed nearly 850 people since 1968 in a campaign for an independent state in northern Spain and southwestern France.
Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar, who survived an ETA bomb attack while opposition leader in 1995, has rejected any negotiations with ETA.
In the campaign for the March 14th general election, both leading parties have called the fight against ETA a top national priority. However, the opposition Socialists are more willing than the ruling centre-right Popular Party to negotiate home rule issues with regional governments in Spain.
The ETA announcement comes in the wake of a political scandal that erupted after a leftist Catalan national politician, Josep-Lluis Carod-Rovira, admitted he had met leaders of ETA in January.
The Spanish government accused Mr Carod of attempting to negotiate a ceasefire for Catalonia, Spain's wealthiest region. Mr Carod, who was forced to resign his post as the number two official in the Catalan government, refused to disclose what he spoke about with ETA but said no agreement was reached.