SULAIMANI (ESTA) — President of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) Bafel Talabani met with U.S. Ambassador to Iraq Alina Romanowsk in Baghdad on Monday.
The two sides discussed the Iraqi government’s efforts and steps to succeed in the reform process, Talabani’s office said in a statement.
Both sides stressed parties’ support for the implementation of the government agenda, the statement read.
Talabani, for his part, spoke about the importance and the necessity of the political forces’ unity for the implantation of the government agenda.
“Offering service and enforcing the law are the priorities of the government while resolving Erbil-Baghdad’s issues are in the same frame,” Talabani said, according to the statement.
Another part of the discussions was dedicated to the disputes between the Kurdistan Region political parties and the governance experience there, the office in the statement added.
Explaining PUK’s stance and the “bad” situation of Sulaimani and Halabja provinces people to the Ambassador PUK President said, “Unfortunately the Kurdistan Regional Government [KRG] makes irresponsible unhealthy treatment with the people there.”
“The service in those areas [Sulaimani and Halabja] are at its lowest level, people feel they are being punished,” he added.
“PUK deems itself as the owner of this experience we don’t accept any side to look at its people as second-class citizens, imposing political siege as a pressure card against us,” Talabani was quoted as saying.
He further warned that the KRG won’t think about the “bad” outcomes of this “unhealthy” policy. “We send this message to all political envoys and the Kurdistan Region political parties.”
In spite of this, “We demanded any system or global system that exists to collect revenue in a just way, be implemented so that everyone Kurdistan Region citizens take benefit of it,” Talabani continued.
