ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is “closely” watching developments in Kurdistan Region’s parliament, an official said Tuesday, with the international organization urging all political parties to resolve disputes through “legal channels.”

The Kurdistan Region’s parliament reconvened last 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 Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) participated in the session, while the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (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.

Guterres “is closely following developments relating to the convening of parliament” in the Kurdistan Region, Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for the UN chief, told The New Region on Tuesday.

Guterres "recalls that following the October 2024 parliamentary elections in the Region, he urged all political leaders and societal groups to maintain a peaceful environment and resolve any disputes through established legal channels,” he added.

Last week, President Masoud Barzani called on the PUK to sit down with the KDP and resolve their differences, as tensions over the formation of the next Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) persist.

Soon after, the KDP welcomed Barzani’s earlier note and announced that the party is ready “for dialogue and meetings” with the PUK and other parties.

“In light of the President’s initiative, we are ready for dialogue and meetings with our brothers in the PUK, in order to resolve the problems and end the political crisis in the Kurdistan Region,” KDP spokesperson Mahmoud Mohammed said.

Following the parliament session, the PUK 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.