MESOP NEWS FLASH : PUK EN ROUTE TO THEIR MASTERS IN TEHRAN – WORKING AGAINST KURDISH INDEPENDENCE

16 July 2017 – PUK senior delegation to visit Iran on Sunday

A senior delegation of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) is to visit Iran on Sunday to discuss bilateral relations and likely the Kurdish referendum that is scheduled to take place on September 25.The visit comes after a PUK politburo meeting on Thursday that formed a delegation to visit regional countries to discuss the “referendum” among other issues.

Kosrat Rasul, deputy secretary general of the party, heads the delegation that also includes Mala Bakhtiar and Mahmud Sangawi, PUK politburo members as well as a number of other party officials.Nazim Dabagh, the representative of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Tehran, told Rudaw that the visit is to discuss bilateral relations and the political situation in the region.

The planned referendum is also expected to be on the agenda. “It is likely that they would also discuss the referendum. I have said this before, the Islamic Republic of Iran is for the territorial integrity of Iraq and they have always said that they will support any project but within the framework of the Iraqi constitution,” Dabagh said, adding that the visit is at the request of Tehran.

Iran has expressed its strong opposition to the Kurdish referendum, instead calling for a united Iraq. The delegation will return to Kurdistan on Tuesday, Dabagh said.

Reporter’s code: 50101 www.mesop.de