Islam Times - Kurdish and Iraqi MPs in talks to reopen Baghdad office

Islam Times - Leaders in the Kurdistan Region are hopeful that they can reopen the region’s representation office in Baghdad. Negotiations are now underway between the regional and Iraqi central governments to reach an agreement. Iraq’s Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki shut down the office earlier in August. Critics describe the move as political punishment against the Kurdistan Region.

Iraq’s central government said it closed the office because there was a lack of legal reason for having it. The move followed a number of disputes between Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.

The Turkish foreign minister’s visit to the disputed city of Kirkuk earlier this month caused a stir. Iraq’s prime minister said Turkey treated the Kurdistan Region as if it were an independent state.

Office members say they are continuing to work in Baghdad despite the closure of their office. The representation office opened in 2006 under Iraq’s current prime minister. Maliki visited the Kurdistan Region and agreed with Kurdish leaders to open the office to help coordinate relations between Kurdistan and Iraq.

Critics say the decision to close the office comes at an unsuitable time. The Kurdistan Region’s political parties recently decided to create a negotiations council to help resolve the ongoing disputes with Iraq’s government. Relations between Arbil and Baghdad seem to be a case of two steps forward, one step back.