Informed sources confirmed that President of Iraq's Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani informed Iraqi Vice President Ayad Allawi on Thursday that he was “ready” to cooperate with the latter’s initiative to contain the growing crisis between Baghdad and Erbil that erupted due to the Kurdistan referendum on independence held earlier in the week.
Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that Barzani sent a written response in which he expressed his readiness to “wait for two years during which a constructive national dialogue will kick off to deal with all files and issues that make us partners in building the future of our peoples without imposing a fait accompli on any area.”
Barzani was alluding to the disputed areas between Baghdad and Erbil, including the oil-rich Kirkuk province, which Allawi said in his initiative, should be subject to the provision of Article 140 of the Constitution and that violations of such matter shall be dealt with in a manner that deepens national participation and responds to the interests of all segments of the country.
“Your call for dialogue to solve the disputed issues and reject the threatening and inflexible conduct are matters we called for since the start of the crisis and since we proposed to hold a referendum that should decide our fate,” Barzani also mentioned in his response to Allawi.
He added: “We are open to your initiative and are ready to cooperate with you.”
Last Monday, Allawi called on Barzani to freeze results of the referendum during a constructive transitional phase in which a responsible and constructive national dialogue will be held to deal with all aspects of the dispute in a way that preserves the common heritage and to achieve a unified federal democratic Iraq.
Allawi also called on the government and a number of parties to the political process to abandon the language of escalation and revenge.
