Sunni alliance delegation meets with Kurdish leaders in Erbil

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – A Sunni Sovereignty Alliance delegation led by the party's head and the Iraqi parliamentary speaker on Saturday met with top Kurdish leaders in Erbil to discuss developments in the region amid an ongoing political crisis.

The delegation, which included parliamentary speaker Mohammed al-Halbousi and party leader Khamis al-Khanjar, met with Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and discussed political developments in the country as well as exchanging "views and visions that contribute to overcoming the obstacles" of the Iraqi political deadlock, Halbousi's office said.  

Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) leader Masoud Barzani also hosted the delegation, and they discussed Iraq's political situation and "the latest developments in the current political process," according to a statement from the Barzani Headquarters. 

The KDP and the Sovereignty Alliance are joined by the Sadrists in a tripartite alliance named Save the Homeland Alliance. The alliance consists of one of two major players in the quest to form the Iraqi government, rivaling the pro-Iran Shiite Coordination Framework.

The Sunnis' visit to Erbil comes as Iraq's political deadlock is seemingly worsening. On Thursday, top Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr threatened to withdraw from the Iraqi parliament "in the coming days" after repeated failures to form the country's next government. The cleric in a televised speech ordered his bloc's members to have their resignation papers prepared, expressing frustration over repeated boycotts by the Coordination Framework. 

Sadr's attempts to form a national majority government have been opposed by the Coordination Framework, who insist on forming a more traditional government based on political consensus.

Iraq remains mired by instability with the country having yet to form a government eight months after early elections were held in October. The inability to form a government hinders the caretaker government from passing proper, long-term decisions to stabilize various sectors in the country and address broad issues that continue to have detrimental effects on the country.