President Barzani calls on PUK team to return to KRG meetings

Karwan Faidhi Dri

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani Thursday called on the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan’s (PUK) ministerial team to return to the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) weekly meetings, adding that their concerns have been taken “very seriously” by authorities.

Speaking at the second edition of Erbil Forum in the Region’s capital city of Erbil on Thursday, Barzani said that tensions between the political parties in the Kurdistan Region have “tired” everyone adding that they need to focus on Kurdish issues in Iraq rather than “tiny stuff.”

He called on the PUK team in the government, including Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, to end their boycotting of the KRG’s weekly meetings, months after the team stopped going to the meetings as a protest against PUK’s concerns at the government. 

“I think the time has come to resolve the issues… I call on our friends from the PUK as well as Mr. Qubad and the PUK team in the government to return to the Council of Ministers. Definitely, there are concerns [from the PUK side] and issues, and their concerns at all levels - from the Region’s President and Prime Minister and to all levels - have been taken very seriously. However, we cannot resolve these issues by discussing them outside the government,” President Barzani said during a panel entitled “Outstanding issues in the Middle East and the Future of the Kurdistan Region.” 

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the PUK have been at loggerheads in recent months over the Region’s parliamentary elections, the transparency of the oil and local income of the provinces under their influence, and the assassination of a former PUK colonel in Erbil in October. 

Despite working together in the KRG, the two parties have established control over different parts of the Region, often being referred to as the “Yellow Zone” and “Green Zone“. The KDP is dominant in Erbil and Duhok provinces, while the PUK rules Sulaimani and Halabja.

Bafel Talabani, head of the PUK, told the same forum, which is organized by Rudaw Research Center, the previous day that the KDP should take serious steps to resolve their bilateral issues. 

“Can we not separate our problems? Let's solve other problems. If we cannot solve the bigger issues, let's start with the small ones,” Bafel Talabani said. “Hopefully we will have no problems in the end.”

He claimed that neither the KRG nor the KDP have contacted the PUK’s governmental team to see what their concerns are since they started boycotting the meetings.

Saadi Ahmed Pira, a PUK politburo member, told Rudaw earlier on Thursday that it is not clear when the party’s governmental team will return to the KRG meetings, adding that the team has been ignored by the cabinet. 

Asked if any further escalation of tensions between the KDP and PUK would lead to a military confrontation, President Barzani said that Kurdish political parties have passed such a stage, adding that the political tensions between them will “never” lead to a civil war. 

Both governing parties met on an electoral body level in Erbil on Tuesday, with both parties announcing in a joint statement that they had reached a “mutual understanding” on the “majority” of the points related to how the upcoming elections should be held.

Rudaw understands that both parties have agreed on the method of the election as well as to coordinate with Iraq’s electoral commission to benefit from their voter list of the Kurdistan Region.

Ukraine war
Over one year has passed since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. The war has been making headlines since its start, and it has caused an energy crisis in the world. This has made Western countries seek new sources of energy rather than relying on Russia. 

“Countries see Iraq as a new stage, and see it in terms of an economic and political rise. They also see the role Iraq is playing as a key one. In this framework, the Kurdistan Region can help secure peace and security in Iraq,” President Barzani said during Thursday’s panel. 

Barzani attended the 59th Munich Security Conference (MSC) last month. The three-day event focused on “global challenges.”

“It was very obvious at the Munich [Security] Conference that the powerful [countries] are seeking new alliances. The countries are rearranging themselves based on this. It is a new development and new stage for a new alliance. I believe Iraq can play a key role in this regard. In terms of energy, Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region, can play a key… role to resolve it [energy issue]. Western countries have relied on Russia for a long time but this could change now,” said Barzani. 

“There is a golden opportunity for the Kurdistan Region and Iraq to play a serious role in energy in the world,” he added. 

He also said that so far Iraq has done a great job when it comes to the Russia-Ukraine war as it has not taken any sides but acted as a “bridge” between Russia and Western countries. 

“I believe that Iraq cannot be a side but a bridge,” he noted. 

Erbil-Baghdad relations

The federal budget has been a frequent point of contention between Erbil and Baghdad, especially after the Kurdistan Region's decision to sell its oil through Turkey. Almost two years after Iraq passed its last budget law, Erbil and Baghdad remain in disagreement over several key issues. Kurdish government delegations have travelled to Baghdad on several occasions to reach common ground with the Iraqi government, however, they have yet to reach a resolution on all disagreements.

Omed Sabah, head of the Diwan of the Kurdistan Region’s council of ministers, said on Sunday that Erbil and Baghdad have reached a preliminary agreement regarding the 2023 budget bill. 

President Barzani said on Thursday that the relations between both governments have improved since Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani took office months ago.

“I believe that the strengthening of the Kurdistan Region does not pose any threat to Iraq and the strengthening of Iraq does not pose any threat to the Kurdistan Region. They complete one another. We see it in a way that we are two entities in a state called Iraq,” he said. 

“We do not want to lose any opportunities to resolve issues with Baghdad as we complete one another,” added the President.