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Iraqi PM visits Kurdistan for land, oil talks
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-08-04 08:35

Iraqi PM visits Kurdistan for land, oil talks

Iraq's President Jalal Talabani (R) talks with Iraq's Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki (L) during his visit to Iraq's autonomous Kurdistan region near Sulaimaniya, 260 km (160 miles) northeast of Baghdad, August 2, 2009. [Xinhua]

 
In June, the Kurdish parliament in Arbil approved a new draft constitution for their autonomous region, legalizing its claims to the oil-rich Kirkuk as well as other disputed areas in Nineveh and Diyala provinces, a move widely condemned by Arabs as a step toward splintering Iraq.

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US diplomats and military officials have repeatedly warned the potential for a confrontation between Iraqi central government and the Kurdish region.

Last week, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates visited Iraq and urged both Arabs and Kurds to solve their disputes before American troops leave Iraq by the end of 2011, in line with a security pact signed late last year between Baghdad and Washington.

"We are willing to assist in resolving disputes over boundaries and hydrocarbons, disputes that require continued commitment to the political process by word and deed," Gates said.

The main Kurdish parties, the Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP), led by Barzani, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, ran the region's parliamentary elections on July 25 in a joint list and won 57 percent of the votes.

Observers see Iraq's parliamentary elections early next year push Maliki to seek support from the powerful Kurdish parties as his own grouping is unlikely to gain enough seats by its own to secure majority in the 275-seat Iraqi parliament.