Masoud Barzani: Baghdad does not commit to the constitution

Shafaq News/ Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani on Wednesday said that an early parliamentary election in Iraq should stand upon solid "political and legal" grounds, attributing the Baghdad-Erbil disputes to the former's non-compliance with the constitution.

Barzani's remarks came during a meeting with a US diplomatic delegation headed by the United States Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, Barbara Leaf, in the Saladin resort near the capital of the Kurdistan region, Erbil.

According to a readout issued by his headquarters, the US diplomat conveyed President Joe Biden's salutes to President Barzani, highlighting the role of the Kurdistan region in the stability and development of the Middle East, and its vitality to Washington's foreign policy.

Leaf said that his country is concerned about the constrained ties between Iraq's federal and Kurdistan's regional governments, commending the Kurdish leader's wisdom in dismantling those differences pursuant to the constitution.

Barzani briefed the visiting delegation on the political situation in Iraq and the factors leading to the stalemate in the country, stressing that "Baghdad's non-commitment to the provisions of the constitution, the non-compliance with the principles of 'partnership, balance, and consensus', and the results of the election" are the catalysts of the political crises in Iraq.

The Kurdish leader said that the Baghdad-Erbil can only be addressed in accordance with the Iraqi constitution, according to the readout.

"We have no objections to holding an early election if the political and legal grounds are there, non of the parties or components is ostracized, and the results are respected," said the readout quoting Barzani.