ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - The ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) will hold talks, which sources say will be decisive, in Sulaimani province’s resort town of Dukan on Monday to discuss the formation of the tenth cabinet, over six months since the parliamentary elections were held.

The high-profile meeting will be held in the presence of Kurdistan Region Prime Minister and Deputy President of the KDP Masrour Barzani and PUK chief Bafel Talabani.

PUK Spokesperson Saadi Ahmed Pira had previously told The New Region that the upcoming meeting between the two parties would see discussions around “the distribution of posts.”

Sources from the two sides have told The New Region that Monday’s meeting will be decisive.

The gathering follows an earlier meeting with the same agenda on April 17 between KDP and PUK delegations led, respectively, by senior KDP official Hoshyar Zebari and top PUK official Qubad Talabani, the latter of whom also serves as deputy prime minister in the current Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) cabinet.

A “final draft” outlining the formation of the cabinet was reached between the two parties on March 18, followed by two other meetings on April 15 and 17 between the two election winners, both of which shared a similar agenda to the upcoming talks.

The KDP and PUK emerged as the main parties from the October 20 parliamentary elections, gaining 39 and 23 seats respectively. The Kurdistan Region’s newly elected members of parliament were sworn in early December, officially commencing their legislative duties.

The US Consulate in Erbil recently urged the two actors to reach an agreement swiftly, with a spokesperson telling The New Region that “a strong and resilient Kurdistan Regional Government is necessary for Iraq’s security and stability.”

The two parties have held numerous meetings at the leadership and technical levels. Both sides have repeatedly described their meetings as positive.