President Barzani and Bafel Talabani agree to work together towards greater unity

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Masoud Barzani, President of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), on Thursday met with Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) President, Bafel Talabani, in Pirmam, Erbil province.

The meeting was also joined by Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani and Iraqi FM Fuad Hussein to evaluate the current situation in Iraq and its future.

During the meeting, a joint decision was reportedly made to work again to face challenges in both Baghdad and Erbil for the "sake of the unity of the Kurdish people" and to continue meetings for this purpose, the Barzani Headquarters said in a statement.

The meeting comes amidst unrest in Baghdad and discussions over holding early elections in Iraq.

The Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Wednesday called for another early election to end the political deadlock amidst protests in Baghdad.

Read More: Sadr calls for early elections following months of bitter deadlock

The Barzani headquarters also on Tuesday confirmed that President of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Masoud Barzani stated that the political crisis can only be solved through "dialogue,mutual understanding and acceptance."

Falih Al-Fayyadh, a top leader of the Iran-aligned Coordination Framework on Thursday said Mohammad Shia' Al-Sudani is still the Shiite Coordination Framework's nominee for prime minister.

Sadr’s supporters for several days protested against al-Sudani, seeing him as close to former Iraqi PM Nouri al-Maliki, Sadr’s main rival.

Al-Fayyadh also said that the current government led by Iraqi PM Mustafa Al-Kadhimi is a caretaker one and does not have the jurisdiction to run elections.

However, he added that the Framework has not yet officially taken a position on holding snap elections, Al-Fayyadh said.