KDP official says party hoped all sides would respond positively to Barzani's reconciliation initiative

ERBIL, Iraq — A senior Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) official said the party had hoped all political parties in the Kurdistan Region would respond positively to a reconciliation initiative launched by Masoud Barzani, the former president of the region and head of the KDP. Speaking to reporters in Erbil, Fazıl Mirani, a member of the KDP Political Bureau Working Committee, said Barzani's initiative was aimed at achieving reconciliation through broad-based talks and at enabling the formation of a new government. Mirani said protecting the interests of the people of the Kurdistan Region was the party's priority, and that parties adopting that approach could help resolve 90 percent of the region's problems. He described Barzani's initiative as the latest and most comprehensive effort in that direction. At the end of May, Barzani called on all political parties in the Kurdistan Region to hold a broad-participation meeting after the Eid al-Adha holiday. The call was made to overcome the political deadlock in the region and ease tensions. No further details on the parties' responses to the initiative were immediately available.