National Coalition Member denies existence of new Barzani initiative

BAGHDAD / IraqiNews.com: A legislature in the National Coalition, led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, has denied the existence of a new initiative by Kurdistan President, Massoud Barzani, reiterating that the current situation necessitates the implementation of Barzani’s previous initiative.   “There is no new initiative by Kurdistan President, Massoud Barzani, because the current situation does not need that, as much as it needs the following up of the items, implemented from the previous initiative and to find solutions for the issues in-difference,” Abbas Hmoud told IraqiNews.com news agency.   Mmoud said that “the difference did not relate to   (Barzani’s) initiative, but on the mechanism of implementing and describing its items, due to the fact that each party had been explaining the issue from its own viewpoint.”   Al-Iraqiya Coalition Member, Othman al-Juheishy, told IraqiNews.com early in the day that “Barzani shall confer with Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki and al-Iraqiya Leader, Iyad Allawi in his Baghdad residence, to present a new initiative on them.” “What has remained from the initiative is very little; it is related to the issue of the National Council for Strategic Policies (NCSP) and the security cabinet posts, thing that does not exceed 10% of the initiative’s items and the whole political process,” Hmoud said.   The President of north Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, Massoud Barzani, had announced an initiative to settle the political crisis on 16/9/2010, comprising the formation of an 8-12 member committee, representing different political blocs, to start talks aimed at the settlement of the suspended differences and to discuss the issue of the formation of a government of national-partnership, as well as the issue of the Three Presidencies.   Noteworthy is that the Iraqi Parliament had granted trust on 21/12/2010 to the new Iraqi government, comprising 32 ministries, including 12 ministries of state, whilst Maliki kept the administrations of the Interior, Defense and National Security under his control, on (acting) basis, pending the settlement of the issue of the candidates for those posts, by different political blocs.   SKH (FT)