HDP delegation to visit President Barzani

DIYARBAKIR, Turkey (K24) - A delegation from Pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) will be visiting Iraqi Kurdistan "soon" and meet its President Masoud Barzani as well as the Secretary General of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, Jalal Talabani, said an HDP Member of Parliament Selma Irmak on Saturday.

Speaking to a conference titled, "Let's build the self-rule and free life," organized by her party in the major Kurdish city of Diyarbakir, Irmak stated that the purpose of the visit to Iraqi Kurdistan is to strengthen "our unity."

She mentioned to the upcoming meeting will happen in January or February but did not specify a date.

A K24 correspondent in Diyarbakir said it was not clear who the delegation would be made up of, but HDP co-chair Selahattin Demirtas could be heading the visit to Erbil, the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan.

Irmak, also the co-chair of the Democratic People's Congress (DTK), an umbrella institution for Kurdish political parties and civic organizations that last week demanded autonomy added that "today is the day of unity and solidarity [among Kurds]."

She also reiterated DTK's position on autonomy and told the audience that "we do not want a central state; we want an autonomous Kurdistan."

HDP representative to Iraqi Kurdistan, Silan Eminoglu told K24 over the phone that the details of the meetings with Barzani or Talabani have not been specified yet. "We are working to help facilitate peace in Northern Kurdistan [in Turkey] with all [Turkish and Kurdish] sides," she added.

(Siddiq Eren contributed to this report from Diyarbakir)