Ankara and Arbil want ‘unity gov’t’

The prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) held talks in Ankara on June 26, amid growing unrest in Iraq. Both Nechirvan Barzani and Turkish officials agreed on the need for the establishment of an inclusive Iraqi government as soon as possible. 

A Turkish official, who wanted to remain anonymous, said after the talks that both sides supported a new government that would “embrace all parts of the Iraqi people and aims for fair power and revenue sharing.”

A “reconciliation government” should be founded as soon as possible in order to protect territorial and political unity and keep the country from sectarian clashes, the official added.

The meeting was called by Turkey to discuss strategy and developments after militants led by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), began waging an open war against the central government.

KRG Prime Minister Barzani mentioned concerns about security and cited the loss of revenue suffered after ISIL seized the Mosul region.

Barzani, accompanied by the governor of Kirkuk, came to Turkey following an invitation by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, met Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, Energy Minister Taner Yıldız and the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) chief Hakan Fidan, and Erdoğan. The bilateral meetings came just before the biannual National Security Council meeting that was set to convene under President Abdullah Gül’s leadership.

The visit comes during a difficult period that has seen ISIL capture a number of Iraqi cities, including Mosul, in its march toward the capital Baghdad.

Meanwhile, KRG President Masoud Barzani yesterday toured Kirkuk, in his first visit since the takeover, to...