ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani said on Wednesday that the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) have eliminated the bulk of hindrances in the way of forming the tenth cabinet of the Kurdistan Region, and that what remains to be resolved is party shares in the new government.
“What remains [unsolved] is the distribution of positions. I acknowledge that it took a long time and I do not want to bring any excuses and I do not want to defend it [the delay] and I believe that we should have formed the government earlier. But we have to adapt to some situations and see what exists rather than what we hope for. I wish we could form the government in March or April but there are some obstacles and lack of trust that should be resolved,” said President Barzani during a panel at the Middle East Research Institute’s (MERI) Forum in Erbil.
“Our relations with our brothers from the PUK are much better than in the past,” said President Barzani, who is also the first deputy leader of the KDP.
“It is true that we have not reached the stage to form the government but we have passed a very important stage with the PUK,” he said, adding that both parties have drafted a joint list of Kurdish demands to be presented to Baghdad.
The Kurdistan Region held its long-delayed parliamentary election nearly a year ago, in October. The KDP won 39 out of the 100-seat parliament, followed by the PUK with 23. As has traditionally been the case, the two parties are seeking to form a coalition government.
Speaking at the MERI forum on Tuesday, PUK President Bafel Talabani attributed the cabinet formation delay to systemic issues, “rather than [the distribution] of positions.”
He said his party was holding “quite detailed” talks with the KDP, emphasizing the need for a government that is “fair, transparent, and focused on the real problems of Kurdistan.”
“We want partnership,” Talabani said, addressing the KDP. “We want to be involved in the decision-making process.”
New stage in Iraq
President Barzani stated that the 2003 constitution of Iraq is an achievement for Kurds, adding that the November 11 parliamentary elections are important and Kurds should take part to make sure the articles of the constitutions, which have yet to be implemented, are implemented.
“If we want to establish a prosperous Iraq in terms of politics, social, and economy, the number one condition is an abidement of the Iraqi constitution,” he said, criticizing Baghdad for its failure to implement some articles.
“Eighty percent of Iraqis, including myself, have voted for the constitution,” President Barzani said, adding that “Iraq’s biggest issue is that no one knows whether the Iraqi system is federalism or centralism.”
He added, “Based on daily implementation [of the system] it is very central. On the surface it is called federal Iraq but in content it is everything but federal.”
In relation to the November 11 legislative elections in Iraq, he said that Kurds have to take part in the democratic process.
“There is a democratic process in Iraq and we have to be grateful for this. But is this enough or not? It is another topic. Democracy is not a package you present to a country as a gift.”
He noted that the upcoming elections “are as important for Iraqi democracy as the 2005 ones [first post-Saddam Hussein elections]. It marks the beginning of a new stage in this country, and all Iraqis should see this as an important matter and feel the responsibility."
President Barzani also emphasized the unity and presence of Kurds in Baghdad.
“We will take part [in the elections] and we have to prove that the weight and unity of Kurds in Baghdad is the source of strength for the Kurdistan Region. “We should pay attention to the Iraqi elections as much as we do for the elections in the Kurdistan Region.”
Twenty years after its invasion by the US, Iraq is still going through a transitional period.
Relations with Iran
“Iran is one of our important neighbors. We have a long border with Iran. We have never wanted or never want relations with Iran to be damaged,” Barzani said, adding that they do not want any group to target Iran from the Kurdistan Region.
Tehran has accused Iranian Kurdish opposition groups based in the Kurdistan Region - namely the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran (KDPI), Komala, Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK), and the Kurdistan Freedom Party (PAK) - of fueling Iran’s nationwide protest movement in 2022 and inciting unrest. The groups, struggling for greater rights for Iran’s marginalized Kurdish population, have fought an on-and-off war with the Islamic Republic for decades.
In 2023, Iraq and Iran signed a security pact that saw Baghdad agree to disarm Kurdish opposition groups and secure the border regions. Iran had threatened to use military action if Baghdad failed to fulfill the agreement.
Under that agreement, the Kurdish opposition groups were largely moved to the city of Koya in southeastern Erbil province.
Iran and Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region, have shared a strong relationship since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. Baghdad and Erbil heavily rely on imports from Tehran for most commodities. Iraq’s electrical grid has been dependent on gas imports from Iran for years.
“We want to become the factor of peace in the region rather than the factor of destruction,” Barzani stressed, adding that this is the policy of the KRG.
Iran and the KRG have a 11 billion dollar trade volume and both sides have strong trade relations, President Barzani said, adding that a new page was turned after his last visit to Tehran.
PKK-Turkey peace process
In May, the PKK officially declared its dissolution and an end to its four-decade-long armed campaign, acting on an appeal from its jailed leader Abdullah Ocalan to seek a political resolution to a conflict that has claimed nearly 40,000 lives. As a symbolic gesture of goodwill, a first group of PKK fighters publicly set fire to their weapons in a ceremony held in Sulaimani province in early July.
Later that month, the Turkish parliament formed a special commission tasked with charting a course toward lasting peace. The Turkish parliament’s summer recess ended last week. The commission is expected to submit its recommendations to the parliament later this year.
“After my meeting with the Turkish President [Recep Tayyip Erdogan], I have come to the belief that Turkey is very serious in this process. There is a serious decision in Turkey for this process to reach a conclusion even if the process is slow,” President Barzani said at the forum.
He added that there should be patience as some processes take time.
Barzani called on the PKK to take some steps.
“There are some steps that the PKK should take for the process to reach a conclusion,” he said, adding that the group should not wait for Ankara to take a step. He warned that Kurds should not lose this “historic opportunity.”
“Qandil [PKK] knows what to do but it fails to do it. Failure to do it creates disappointment, even for Leader Ocalan. This is not good. They say on the surface that they will obey Leader Ocalan but when it comes to implementing it it does the opposite. This will cause a major blow to Kurds and the process. It is not time for these games, which are obvious,” he said.
No centralism for Syria
President Barzani also touched on the latest developments in Syria, and emphasized that a central system of governance does not work in Syria.
“This is a point of disagreement [between us and Syria]. I have talked about this with [Syrian] President Ahmed al-Sharaa,” he said, adding that centralism does not work in a country where various ethnic and religious groups like Kurds, Druze and Alawites live.
Syria’s Kurds, Druze and Alawites have also opposed centralism, with Kurds calling for federalism and Druze seeking autonomy.
Syrian interim authorities have strongly opposed any form of decentralism or federalism.
President Barzani also said that despite the concerns about the governance of the country, the new leaders in Damascus have to be given a chance to rebuild the country, adding that Syrians deserve a better life.
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