Karim said in a televised interview that he visits President Talabani from time to time and talks to him on the phone when he is in Kirkuk , indicating that the President asked him to visit him a few times to meet him .

On the impact of Talabani’s absence on his party and its chances in the next election , Karim said, the head of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan list for the upcoming parliamentary elections in Kirkuk said that the absence of the President impact the overall situation in Iraq and has an effect on the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan , "adding that this absence makes the Patriotic Union works serious in order to convey the news of " wining at the next election ."

Talabani is still receiving treatment in a hospital in Germany due to a stroke that he suffered from more than a year ago .