Bafel Jalal Talabani met with representatives and diplomats from foreign countries, international organizations, and agencies at the Political Bureau headquarters in Erbil.
The meeting was attended by Rewaz Fayaq, speaker of the Kurdistan Parliament, Darbaz Kosrat Rasul, the administrator of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)'s Political Bureau, Amin Baba Sheikh, Dr. Soran Jamal Tahir, and Pola Talabani, members of the Political Bureau, and Farial Abdullah, a member of PUK's Leadership Council.
"PUK has its political value and has an impact on the internal, Iraqi and foreign equations," Talabani said, referring to the political situation in the region, Iraq, and the electoral issue.
Talabani continued, "President Mam Jalal has created a significant political background and a balanced friendly relationship with neighboring countries. Aside from protecting those relations, we will develop and maintain those relationships based on high and mutual interests."
Regarding the elections, Bafel Jalal Talabani revealed that the majority of the political parties are supporting drafting a new election law to prevent fraud and clear voter registration.
Talabani declared, "So that the components represent themselves and not the forces and other parties. Also, because the election law has a national dimension, it must be resolved by compromise, and PUK has publicly stated that the law does not belong to any party and must be passed by national agreement and consensus."
Regarding the financial conditions imposed on Slemani, Halabja, Garmian, and Raparin, Bafel Jalal Talabani said, "We will not stand idly in the face of injustice, opacity, monopoly, discrimination, and waste of public revenues, and had delivered our message. Conspiring against the people of this region and assaulting their rights is a red line. Our people are complaining to us, and we will not be quiet about this situation, and all possibilities are open to us."
In another aspect of the meeting, Bafel Jalal Talabani spoke about the gas file and exportation attempts, saying, "The contracts and their clauses must be clarified to the people of Kurdistan. We do not want to bring other tragedies to the Kurdistan Region. We must work with transparency on this file, and the citizens must be a part of the process."
"Any efforts outside these demands are rejected, and I declare if exporting oil pipelines violates what the citizens demand and is not in their service, only through my dead body it can be exported, and this is a demand of the masses of the people of Kurdistan," he affirmed.
Bafel Jalal Talabani also revealed that some of those companies operating in the oil fields are run by parties and used for personal interests.
Through the foreign representatives, Bafel Jalal Talabani sent a strongly worded message to the parties that want to sabotage the conditions of the Kurdistan Region that PUK will not accept any subordination or expulsion from any party or political side.
"We believe in political struggle and reject the imposition of wills and exclusivity in any form. In order to correct mistakes, we will take all the essential steps for the sake of the lives of our citizens," he stressed.
(PUKNOW/PUKmedia)