MESOP : COOPERATION & THE BUDGET DIFFERENCES Barzani & Massoum reiterate on national reconciliation in Iraq

12 June 2015 – MESOP – The Iraqi President Fuad Massoum and Massoud Barzani, the President of the northern region of Kurdistan, reiterated on the importance of national reconciliation among all sides in Iraq.Massoum paid a visit to Erbil, the capital of the region, on Thursday and met Barzani. The two sides discussed the latest developments in Iraq among them political and security situation of the state, a large part of it under the control of the militants of the Islamic State (IS).

According to the region’s presidency website the two sides also negotiated about the threat of the terroristic group to Iraq and the Kurdish region.Barzani and Massoum, also a Kurds, hailed the role of the Kurdish forces of Peshmerga and the Iraqi military forces in sheltering Iraqi refugees and protecting the displaced people.The meeting also stressed on reconciliation and cooperation between all Iraqi sides to reinforce ties. The two officials further asked for more meetings between Erbil and Baghdad to settle differences over oil and budget.Before meeting Barzani, Massoum arrived in Sulaimaniya and met the PUK leader Jalal Talabani. Massoum is a leading member of the PUK. Reports said Massoum’s visit to Erbil is to take Iraqi PM Hiader al-Abadi’s message to Barzani over disputes between the northern and the central governments but the Iraqi president denied the claims as he arrived in Erbil.