Kurdistan’s PUK denies abundance of Region’s Premier’s Post

ARBIL / IraqiNews.com: North Iraq’s Kurdistan Region’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), led by Iraqi President, Talal Talabani, has denied its intention to abandon the post of the Region’s Premier’s, for the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), led by Kurdistan President, Massoud Barzani, according to a PUK leader on Tuesday.   “Reports about PUK’s intention to hand over of the Kurdistan Premier’s post to the KDP are incorrect and the subject was not discussed between both Parties, as we work with the KDP as one party,” Saadi Peera told IraqiNews.com news agency.   “We hear such matters from the media, but they don’t stem from the status-quo, and we haven’t discussed them in the past or nowadays; and even in the meeting of the Political Bureaus of both Parties that was held last Sunday,” Peera said.   Peera pointed out that “Premier Barham Saleh holds the post of the Head of the Government, according to an agreement signed with the KDP,” pointing out that his Party can’t reply a “question that is not based on the status-quo, because the said agreement was signed years back and during the past few months, and covers cooperation between both Parties in all aspects.”   Several mass media sources had reported recently that the Leaders of both said Parties have agreed on naming “Roz Nouri Shawes,” now holding the post of Deputy Prime-Minister in the Central Government of Iraq, to hold the post of Kurdistan’s Premier, whilst its current Premier, Barham Saleh, would replace him in the post of Iraq ’s Deputy Prime Minister.   SKH (RT) 608