ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A senior leader of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) said that his party backs a united Kurdish stance in negotiations with Baghdad over Erbil’s oil exports and formation of the next Iraqi government, as Kurdish relations with the central government are at rock bottom.
Adnan Mufti added that his party agreed on adopting a joint Kurdish front in a meeting with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which dominates the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).
"We reaffirmed the (previous) decision on a united position and formation of a joint committee to negotiate with other political lists in Baghdad," Mufti said.
He explained there are two PUK members on the Kurdish committee that oversees oil policy, and that the committee would back the decisions taken by the KRG in talks with Baghdad.
“Whatever measures the government takes, the committee is in charge,” he added.
Erbil-Baghdad relations have gone from bad to worse. The most serious bone of contention is over oil exports by the KRG, which Baghdad opposes.
Baghdad says that the oil sales, which began last week through a pipeline to the Turkish port of Ceyhan, are illegal. The KRG has threatened to go so far as to break away from Iraq if Baghdad continues pressure on oil sales and other issues, such as withholding the autonomous region’s budget.
Nearly nine months after Kurdistan’s legislative polls, Kurdish parties have failed to agree on a national government, mainly due to a leadership crisis inside the PUK, where frictions have exacerbated during the long absence of its ailing leader, Jalal Talabani.
Mufti said that, in talks with the KDP, it was decided to expedite the process of naming candidates to head the ministries and other senior posts. So far, the incoming Kurdish parliament has only named the KDP’s Nechirvan Barzani to continue as prime minister, and decided on the PUK’s Qubad Talabani as his deputy.
"We have agreed on the general lines that are related to naming PUK's candidates that would be settled in the coming days,” Mufti said, adding that a decision on who becomes the parliament speaker would also be finalized soon.
The PUK must also decide on the Iraqi presidency. PUK leader Jalal Talabani, who is also Iraq’s president, has been in Germany since a stroke in December 2012. The PUK reportedly has three candidates for the presidency: Former KRG prime minister Barham Salih, Kirkuk governor Najmaldin Karim and one of Talabani’s top officials, Fuad Masum.
Earlier this month the Kurdistan Region Presidency put out a statement saying that any candidate for Iraqi president must be approved by Kurdistan’s own parliament, seen by the PUK as a challenge to its claim over the position. Mufti said that, in talks with the KDP, there was no discussion about the presidential post.
Mufti also rejected allegations that his party would side with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki’s State of Law coalition in the next Iraqi government.
"The PUK's stance is clear and transparent: Kurdish unity is our priority and in the previous PUK leadership meeting, it was discussed that PUK is committed to a united Kurdish position,” he said.
"Whatever decision the (Kurdistan) government takes, we will support it,” Mufti said.
