ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – President Masoud Barzani on Monday called on the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) to sit down with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and resolve their differences, as tensions over the formation of the next Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) persist.

The Kurdistan Region’s parliament reconvened on Wednesday after a two-year hiatus, continuing the proceedings of its first session in 2024 and electing the parliamentary presidency board.

Of the Region’s two largest parties, the KDP participated in the session, while the PUK boycotted it. A day later, PUK leader Bafel Talabani announced that the party would withdraw from the KRG and revealed plans for a potential separate government.

“I call on my brothers in the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan to sit down together with the KDP, resolve the problems, and bring an end to the political crisis of the Kurdistan Region,” President Barzani said in a statement.

“Everyone must bear in mind that the interest of the people of Kurdistan is greater than every other interest and objective,” Barzani added, calling on other political parties to participate in the political process and help form a broad-based government.

“I would also very much like the other political parties of the Region to take part in the steps of the political process, to form a broad-based national government together, and to respond to the demands and wishes of the people of Kurdistan,” he added.

The PUK on Saturday said its Board of Government held a meeting where they discussed “the political and administrative situation in the Kurdistan Region, with particular emphasis on making the necessary preparations to implement the decisions of President Bafel Jalal Talabani” vis-a-vis the party's withdrawal from the KRG.

Despite the PUK’s absence, a quorum was reached through the participation of MPs who had defected from the party, as well as lawmakers from other blocs. The participants said restoring the legislature was a public duty.

The PUK is the KDP’s main rival, and the two parties have traditionally governed the Region together. They emerged as the two largest parties in the last parliamentary elections. The KDP won 39 seats, while the PUK secured 23. However, negotiations to form the next cabinet have repeatedly stalled, with both parties blaming each other for the impasse.