Prime Minister Barzani's Baghdad Trip Breaks Political Deadlock, Kurdish and Iraqi Officials Say

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - The spokesperson for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) said Sunday that a period of cooled relations between Erbil and Baghdad had allowed false interpretations to take hold against the Kurdistan Region, but that Prime Minister Masrour Barzani's ongoing visit to the Iraqi capital is now correcting that course.

Speaking to Kurdistan24, Mahmoud Mohammed, KDP spokesperson, said the estrangement between the two sides had created conditions in which misreadings flourished.

"Because relations had grown cold, some wrong interpretations were being made in Baghdad about the Kurdistan Region," he said. "But relations will return to normal, and the problems that were being created for the regional government will be resolved."

Mohammed also addressed the KDP's recent outreach visits to a number of political parties within the Kurdistan Region itself, describing them as necessary given a stagnation in the Region's internal political process.

"These visits and meetings were needed to remove that deadlock, and they will lead to the resolution of problems," he said.

Islamic Supreme Council: 'A new page with Baghdad'

Ali Difai, spokesperson for the Islamic Supreme Council in Iraq, offered an equally optimistic reading of the visit. Speaking to Kurdistan24, he described Prime Minister Barzani's trip as "very positive" and framed it as the opening of an entirely new chapter in federal-regional relations.

"Masrour Barzani has taken the initiative to open a new page with Baghdad, particularly on the important files related to economic and political matters," Difai said.

He added that the meetings had centered on shared interests, quoting the Prime Minister as having reaffirmed that Iraq's interests are embedded in the interests of all its components and provinces.

Difai also revealed that PM Barzani had expressed full support for the new Iraqi government and its program, stating that the Kurdistan Region prime minister's primary goal is the successful implementation of the governmental agenda in service of all Iraqi citizens.

Difai was unequivocal that the model demonstrated by this visit, direct engagement, political and social dialogue built on deep historical ties, is the only viable path to resolving outstanding disputes.

"All files can be resolved through dialogue and these kinds of visits, because our political and social relations are very deep and historical," he said.

Prime Minister Barzani's two-day Baghdad visit has now produced a broad and consistent chorus of positive assessments from Sunni, Shia, and Kurdish political figures, a convergence that observers say reflects the weight that both sides have attached to repairing a relationship that had visibly deteriorated in recent months.