SOUTH KURDISTAN (IRAQ) Consensus – Delegation meets PUK & Gorran Leaders

Basnews views – 09.08.2015 – SULAIMANI – A delegation from the United States government met with senior representatives of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) on Saturday, to discuss the latest developments in Iraq and the KRG.

Leading the agenda was the ongoing debate about the role of president in the Kurdistan Region. The PUK has recently called for a move to a more parliamentary system of government, as a counterweight to the proposed extension of President Barzani’s term. The US officials made it clear that the issue should be resolved by consensus to the satisfaction of all parties. The US delegation consisted of US Ambassador to Iraq Stuart Jones as well as US Deputy Special Presidential Envoy Brett McGurk, US Consul General in Erbil Matthias Mitman, and Lieutenant General James Terry. Their PUK counterparts were led by PUK deputy leader Kosrat Rasul Ali.

The two-hour meeting also focused on the war against Islamic State (IS) and the recent violence between Turkey and the Kurdistan Workers’ party (PKK).Ali told the Americans that as the Kurds and the Peshmerga have shown themselves to the only forces in the Middle East that can be relied on to check the advances of IS, further military aid must be donated by the international coalition in recognition of the fact. The US reiterated its support of the Peshmerga. Ali demanded an immediate end to Turkish airstrikes and a return to dialogue between Ankara and the PKK. Responding to the US position on the KRG presidential issue and the proposed extension of Barzani’s term, the PUK deputy leader said that PUK has always supported settling the issue through dialogue and national consensus. The US delegation later discussed the same topics with Change Movement (Gorran) leader Nawshirwan Mustafa, before visiting former Iraqi President Jalal Talabani at his home in Sulaymaniyah.