In a meeting of Kurdish and Iraqi military officials on Saturday, the Iraqis demanded Kurds accept deployment of federal forces to disputed areas and international borders and for the Peshmerga to come under federal control, Rudaw has learned from an Iraqi source.
The two sides met on Saturday after Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi announced a 24-hour ceasefire Friday evening. Kurds went into the meeting hoping to reach a truce. A spokesperson of Abadi said the main goal was to “allow the deployment without violence of federal forces along the borders.”
After the meeting, the chief of staff of the Iraqi army said they reached a mutual understanding with the Peshmerga delegation on some matters but are waiting for the Kurds to respond for a final agreement.
“We have reached a mutual understanding on some points,” said General Othman al-Ghanimi. “But the definitive solution is in the hands of the visiting [Kurdish] delegation.”
The Kurdish delegation has returned to the Kurdistan Region for consultation and will inform the Iraqis of their position by phone, he said.
He added that there is a 24-ceasefire in place and they will take a different position if the two sides cannot reach an agreement.
The meeting was held on midday Saturday in Mosul and it lasted a few hours. The Peshmerga delegation included acting Peshmerga Minister Karim Shingali, commander of Peshmerga’s unit 70 forces Jaafar Sheikh Mustafa, Zeravani commander Aziz Waisi, commander of Makhmour front Sirwan Barzani, and Peshmerga chief of staff Jamal Imniki.
Firsat Sofi, a member of the Kurdistan Regional parliament and legal expert, writing today in Rudaw stated that the Kurdistan Regional Government operates as a federally-recognized region under the constitution.
Iraq taking control of the border crossings is a “blatant violation of the constitution,” he stated, as is using armed forces to resolve a political dispute.
Updated at 6:30 pm
