Hisham Rakabi, head of Maliki’s press office, on Sunday denied any special connection between the Coalition and KDP leader Masoud Barzani, who stepped down as the Kurdistan Region’s president in November.
“The relations between KDP are good, as they are good with other Kurdish parties,” read the statement, adding that their relations with the KDP have not reached the level of forming a coalition.
The statement was a response to claims by some politicians like Jasim Mohammed Bayati, an Iraqi MP in the State of Law Coalition.
Bayati has claimed that there are indications of a plan with Kurds against the other ethnic components of Kirkuk and Tuz Khurmatu, which have been designed by “a number of political parties.”
The aim is to turn back time to before October 16, Bayati claimed, and return power to Barzani.
Maliki, who is also a vice president in Iraq, spoke on Alam TV on Thursday, reiterating that there should be agreements with Kurdistan Region on the basis of the constitution, and talks between KRG and Iraqi government should start on this basis.
Bayati is known for his close relations with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, a senior member of Maliki's Dawa Party. In December, Abadi announced he would form his own Nasr Coalition — separate from Maliki.
Bayati has also claimed that Arab countries on the Gulf want to support the KDP to return Masoud Barzani to the arena with power.
The objective of this plan is to convince Kurds and some Shiite and Sunni parties to form the biggest bloc after elections, Bayati has added, in order to form a coalition in the future government. And in return Barzani’s ambitions in Kirkuk and other disputed areas would be fulfilled.
Maliki’s press office also stated that everyone should wait until the elections end to talk about the names of candidates for Iraq’s next prime minister.
All of KDP’s options to forge alliances with Iraqi parties for the May elections are open, explained Masrour Barzani, a senior party leader.
After attending the annual Barzani Charity Foundation conference in Erbil, Masrour, who is Masoud’s son, was asked about a KDP-Maliki alliance.
Barzani responded: “I do not know yet. All the options are open. We pay attention to our future agenda based on who gets close to us to implement the Kurdish constitutional rights.”
“No decision has been made so far,” he added.
