PUK Co-leader Lahur Talabany welcomed Klemens Semtner, the Consul General of Germany to the Kurdistan Region, on Sunday.
During the meeting, both sides exchanged ideas about the general situation, upcoming elections and how to improve bilateral relations.
"We stressed the importance of Germany's role in the Kurdistan Region, particularly in the task that the country's military has overseen with regards to the International Coalition’s fight against ISIS. We reiterated our appreciation to the German people and government for their help in providing the Kurdistan Region with weapons and military supplies, as well as training to the Peshmerga forces." PUK Co-leader wrote in his Facebook account.
Moreover, They discussed the continuation of efforts to reach an agreement between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Federal Government.
Lahur Talabany emphasized that the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) encourages both sides to address the problems and reach a definitive agreement in which the region's share of the budget will be determined and the salaries of the region's civil servants will no longer be sacrificed for political tensions and special interests.
He added, "An agreement with the Federal Government is not only for the budget, but also an important factor for solving other problems, particularly the difficulties of the disputed territories while strengthening the regional entity."
They also discussed freedom of expression in the Kurdistan Region, and Talabany asserted that it is one of the main slogans of the PUK and emphasized the need to establish an environment of wide-level freedom of expression, as well as the civilized treatment of journalists and activists to develop and strengthen the foundations of freedom and democracy in the region.
Regarding the PUK stance on the PKK and Turkey issue, PUK Co-leader emphasized that PUK believes the issue must be resolved peacefully, adding that the option of war and resorting to a military option will only complicate the issue further.
Edited by: PUKNOW