On Thursday, May 27, PUK Co-leader welcomed Martin Huth, the European Union's Ambassador to Iraq, and Vincent-Guillaume Poupeau, Head of the European Union Liaison Office in Erbil.

In the meeting, both sides exchanged views on the political and security developments in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, the issue of human rights, freedom of expression and free media.

They emphasized the importance of intensifying efforts to activate the political process, to adopt dialogue and to recognize the common understandings between the political parties to overcome the problems and the political and security challenges.

"We discussed the pending issues between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Federal Government and reaffirmed both sides' commitment to solving the problems through dialogue, recourse to the constitution and the signed agreements between them. We consider it important to have a basic and long-term plan to resolve all problems." PUK Co-leader wrote in his Facebook account.

Both sides agreed on protecting human rights and expanding freedom of expression and free media in the Kurdistan Region, and reiterated that the independence of the court should be protected in the case of punishing journalists and the Badinan activists, which we believe will have a negative impact on the reputation of the government and the Kurdistan Region, which we have fought for, for many years and sacrificed to reach the current state.

Lahur Talabani added, "We reaffirmed the unchanging stance of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) in our support for free media and activists, and with that support, Slemani has become the birthplace of freedom and Kurdistan’s free media. We reiterated that the PUK will continue to do more to strengthen the pillars of democracy, freedom of expression and media in the Kurdistan Region."

Regarding the Constitution of the Kurdistan Region, PUK Co-leader emphasized that the constitution is for all and not only for the benefit of those who have named themselves the majority and it should be written by a new and expert group that considers the interests of the public.

Edited by: PUKNOW