Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani revealed that common ground has been outlined for resolving the political impasse in the region and all of Iraq, announcing at the same time the suspension of media campaigns between the two main parties in the region, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).
Barzani attended the graduation ceremony of 503 Peshmerga officers in Sulaimani’s Qalachwalan Military Academy, during which he delivered a speech, calling on political parties to resolve issues.
Bafel Talabani, PUK co-chair, attended the ceremony.
“We are still in contact with the parties in Iraq and the Kurdistan region to address the political impasse,” said Barzani.
“We succeeded at stopping the media war between the KDP and PUK, as we reached a ground for resolving the political blockage,” he added, explaining that “there are no unsolvable problems, but there are a lot of obstacles that pop up now and then.”
Barzani stressed that “protecting Iraq is an important matter, and that the region should be part of the protection of the Iraqi state.”
He said that “the federal system in Iraq will be a factor in strengthening Iraq’s sovereignty.”
He stressed the need to “protect the borders and sovereignty of Iraq, and that the internal decision be purely Iraqi.”
Barzani recalled the role played by the Kurdish Peshmerga forces during the first period of the occupation of Iraq in 2003.
“After the overthrow of the previous regime, security and stability in many Iraqi regions, including the capital, Baghdad, were maintained by the Peshmerga,” he stated.
“In the war against (ISIS) the Peshmerga was supportive of the Iraqi forces and the protection of the provinces of Kirkuk and Diyala and contributed to defeating the terrorist organization on the side of the federal forces,” added the president.
