Turkish FM urges Iraqi Kurdish political parties to reconcile

Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlio?lu met with different political groups in northern Iraq and urged Iraqi Kurdish political actors for "unity and stability" in the political arena of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), underlining ongoing threat posed by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), diplomatic sources have told the Hürriyet Daily News.

During his meetings in the KRG, Sinirlio?lu pledged Turkey's support for "reconciliation" in northern Iraq.

Sinirilo?lu had bilateral meetings with representatives of various groups in the KRG, amid a political crisis following the expiration of President Massoud Barzani's mandate on Aug. 20. Barzani has served two-and-a-half terms but rival factions have yet to agree on the conditions to extend his tenure.

The Turkish foreign minister met with KRG President Barzani, who also heads Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani, Deputy Prime Minister Kubat Talabani from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), former Prime Minister and PUK Secretary General Bahram Salih, and Iraqi Parliament Speaker Selim el-Cuburi.

As the political division has deepened between the Barzani-led Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the opposition Goran (Change) and PUK, a growing economic crisis has also spilled onto the streets through violent protests.

The PUK, Goran, the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU), and the Islamic Group, all attempted to leverage the expiration date to extract concessions from Barzani that would constrict his powers and increase the powers of the regional parliament.

The opposition parties sought to convert the KRG system from a presidential system to a parliamentary one. The latter would favor the opposition, which holds 58...