Kurds partners in Iraqi Government, says Salih

Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) The Deputy Secretary General of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Barham Saleh, assured that “The current crisis is an Iraqi crisis in the administration of the Iraqi political files inside Iraq rather than a crisis between the Kurdistan Region and Baghdad only.”

He added in a press statement that “We should not ignore the situation in Baghdad even if we want to separate, because the situation in Iraq is important for us beside that our imports, security and our political situation is now directly linked to Iraq.”

He explained that “The relations between the Region and the Baghdad are based on constitutional principles to organize it, but when these principles are violated and neglected and the benefits of the citizens of Kurdistan are not considered, then a simple difference is enough to create a crisis, as it happened in the past.”

“We are waiting for the return of the President, Jalal Talabani, to give a new impetus to the political process in Iraq to carry out the necessary reforms and address the problems,” he added, noting that “Meanwhile, we must not forget that we are partners in the Iraqi government and Baghdad must be our first defense line rather than Kurdistan, because we are involved in the Presidency, Council of Ministers, Parliament and the institutions of the Iraqi State and we have to work from there to address the problems in cooperation with our allies.”