Moreover, the duration of the meeting wasn’t long enough that they could have reached an agreement on certain things, as mentioned in the statement released by Abadi’s office.
The visit came after Abadi had hoped for a private friendly meeting rather than a public one that could become the focus of the media.
In addition to the outstanding problems between Baghdad and Erbil, many decisions have been made to collectively punish the people of Kurdistan. The constitution should have been used to settle these problems after these sanctions had been lifted.
This visit removed a psychological barrier between the two sides and opened the door for Abadi and Barzani to respond to each other face to face rather than through press conferences every Tuesday and Wednesday. But what is really happening behind the scenes?
Iran and the US are each trying from two directions to resolve the problems between Baghdad and Erbil because they don’t want the situations to escalate to a point where other countries in the region and Europe might interfere.
The US doesn’t want the Kurds to do something before elections are held that might lead to the collapse of the puppet champion it has created in Baghdad.
Iran is the designer of all the plans and sanctions imposed on the Kurdistan Region after the referendum. Iran wants to keep the Kurds in the game until the role of the US in Baghdad is finished because the political entity of Kurdistan will not be revoked easily.
In regard to negotiations, just like the internal war between the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) and the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Iran wants the problems between Erbil and Baghdad to be resolved in Tehran. In fact, the key to the solution is in Tehran not Baghdad.
The Kurdistan Region is not in a position to reject any mediation or assistance in this regard. That is why it is expected that some of the sanctions will be lifted on Kurdistan in the near future and negotiations will be held with situations normalized in order to show good will.
But none of the problems between Erbil and Baghdad can be resolved during this short time before elections are held. They will remain outstanding for the next government.
