President Barzani at MSC2026: No final deal yet between KDP and PUK

Shafaq News- Munich

Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani stated on Sunday that the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) have not reached a final agreement on Iraq’s presidency or the formation of a new Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

Speaking on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, Barzani, who also serves as KDP vice president, acknowledged the continuing political impasse while describing recent contacts between the two parties as constructive. He noted that the KDP held a meeting with the PUK about ten days ago, including talks between Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani and PUK President Bafel Talabani, which he characterized as a “positive step after a long pause in dialogue.”

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Barzani added that a second meeting between Masoud Barzani and Talabani took place shortly before his departure to Munich, describing it as another step forward. “Although no final agreement has been reached, discussions are moving in a direction that serves the interests of both the Kurdistan Region and Iraq.”

Under Iraq’s informal power-sharing arrangement, the presidency is allocated to a Kurd, the premiership to a Shiite, and the speakership to a Sunni Arab. Previous attempts to elect a president collapsed because divisions between the two main Kurdish parties, the KDP and PUK, prevented the quorum required for a vote.

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