Kurdistan’s major parties prepare delegation to visit Baghdad
A man holds the Kurdish flag on September 4, 2011 during a demonstration in Stockholm against operations by Iran and Turkey against Kurdish separatist rebels in Iraq. AFP PHOTO /JONATHAN NACKSTRAND (Photo credit should read JONATHAN NACKSTRAND/AFP/Getty Images)
Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi Kurdistan’s two major parties have agreed to send a joint delegation to Baghdad soon to resume talks with the central government over disputed issues.
Shawan Taha, a member of the autonomous region’s ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) told Iraqi Almaalomah website that the KDP and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan have agreed to send “a unified Kurdish delegation” during the coming days to Baghdad.
According to Taha, talks with the central government will focus on “the formation of a national accord government, commitment to apply the constitution at disputed regions and ending the marginalization (of Kurds)”.
He said the two parties await response from opposition blocs on whether they will join it.
Relations deteriorated between Baghdad and Erbil after the autonomous region voted in a popular poll in September for independence from Iraq, a step Baghdad deemed unconstitutional.
After several penal measures from Baghdad, including an embargo on international flights to Kurdistan, and a recapture of territories where sovereignty is disputed by both sides, a detente was witnessed over the past few months after Baghdad lifted the embargo and both sides headed towards a joint management of disputed regions.Both sides have frequently emphasized on dialogue to address problematic issues.