![Iraqi Prime Minister Hiader al-Abadi [M] visits the holy city of Karbala, about 100 km southwest of Baghdad, on November 11, 2017. Photo: PM media office](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.rudaw.net%2Fs3%2Frudaw.net%2FContentFiles%2F341142Image1.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi says that they do not need mediators to jumpstart talks between his government and the Kurdistan region following an almost complete collapse of relations between the two sides since the Kurds’ September independence referendum.
He said Kurdish government employees have to be patient before Baghdad begins sending their monthly salaries.
Abadi made these remarks during a visit to the holy city of Karbala on Saturday where millions of Shiites are observing Arbaeen, the commemoration of 40 days from the date of the death of Imam Hussein, the grandson of the prophet of Islam.
The Kurdistan Region has offered to freeze the outcome of the Kurdish independence referendum in return for open dialogue with Baghdad. Baghdad has so far refused the offer and has instead called on the KRG to declare the results of the vote null and void before any talks take place.
The United States, France, and the United Nations among others, have offered to facilitate political dialogue between the two sides.
The US has been part of a series of security dialogue between the Iraqi and Kurdish forces since a ceasefire was reached on October 28, after about two weeks of deadly military confrontation in some areas, mainly near the Syrian border.
Abadi said Iraqi forces had accomplished the mission of the liberation of Iraq from ISIS, and unifying the Iraqi nation in reference to bringing under control some of the areas previously held by the Peshmerga.
He added that Iraq was still facing security threats.
Regarding general elections scheduled for May 15, and the possible role of such armed groups as the Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi in the process, Abadi said elections will take place on time and that no political group with an armed wing will be allowed to run.
Ahmad al-Assadi, the spokesperson for the Hashd, otherwise known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, has said that the Hashd commanders are allowed to take part in the elections only if they quit the armed groups.
The Iran-backed Hashd is officially part of the Iraqi armed forces.
“The heroic men of the Hashd, the security forces and the army fought not for politicians or for a political party to win in the elections, but for their homeland,” Abadi said in a press conference in Karbala, according to his office.
He also “warned against using the Hashed, and the security and military institutions in the elections.”
The Iraqi premier called for a summit between leaders of the Middle East to address the rising tensions between Saudi Arabia and Iran.
He said what is happening in the region is “a dangerous escalation” that will create an environment for the growth of extremist groups.
