Erbil Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Kurdistan Region Deputy Prime Minister and senior Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) member Qubad Talabani on Sunday said his party is ready for any attempt to get through the deadlock over forming the next Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) cabinet.

“We are ready for any step and any attempt to pass this deadlock that the Kurdistan Region is facing. Anything that will take us through this deadlock we see as a solution, but the easiest thing is for us to sit down and agree on forming the government,” Talabani told reporters.

The Kurdistan Region held parliamentary elections in October 2024, with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) emerging victorious with 39 seats, followed by the PUK with 23.

However, a crippling political impasse between Kurdistan Region’s two main parties has prevented the formation of a government, with both sides trading blame. Demands for the swift formation of the next KRG cabinet have risen since the formation of the new Iraqi cabinet.

On Wednesday, Pshtiwan Sadiq, a senior KDP member and current KRG minister of endowment and religious affairs, said that “steps will be taken” after Eid al-Adha to resume meetings, particularly between the KDP and PUK, toward forming the new cabinet.

Sunday was the first day of work after the Eid al-Adha holidays.

A key sticking point between the KDP and PUK has been top positions and sovereign ministries in the Kurdistan Region, particularly the interior ministry - a post the PUK is vying for.

Talabani rejected the claims that their disputes derive from the inability to agree on the distribution of posts, stating instead: “It is related to the philosophy of partnership, collaboration, coexistence, and shared governance.”

The Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) – specifically its leader Salahaddin Bahaaddin – has led a renewed drive in recent days to arrange a meeting between the KDP and PUK, meeting with top leaders of both parties in an effort to mediate.