Shafaq News- Kirkuk

Kurdish political parties in Iraq's oil-rich Kirkuk province agreed on Wednesday to coordinate their positions on key political, security, and public service issues and said they would hold regular meetings, while leaving open the possibility of forming a unified political bloc.

Representatives of the parties stated after a meeting that they had agreed to strengthen cooperation to address challenges facing the multi-ethnic province and improve coordination on issues affecting residents.

Sirwan Assi, a local official with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), said the meeting helped narrow differences between the parties and was aimed at improving services for Kirkuk's residents rather than advancing partisan interests.

Asked about the prospect of forming a unified Kurdish bloc, Assi said "nothing is impossible," expressing hope that continued dialogue would produce further agreements.

Rond Mulla Mahmoud, a local official with the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), said the parties also agreed to raise concerns with Kirkuk's administration, including what they described as restrictions affecting Kurdish farmers, the military's use of agricultural land in some areas, and the operation of security checkpoints.

The parties also condemned recent attacks on Iraq's Kurdistan Region and agreed to continue holding regular meetings, Mahmoud said.

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Kirkuk, claimed by both Baghdad and the Kurdistan Regional Government, has long been a source of political and ethnic tensions among its Kurdish, Arab, and Turkmen communities.

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