Haci Mahmoud: A KDP-PUK deal would make Kurdistan one of the region's strongest forces

Rastinews — Kurdistan Socialist Democratic Party (KSDP) leader Muhammad Haci Mahmoud took questions from reporters. Asked about the withdrawal of coalition forces from Iraq and the Kurdistan Region, and about relations among Kurdish parties, he said Kurds must rely on their own will and their own strength.

Haci Mahmoud called agreement between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) decisive. "Look at the Houthis — three or four states can't handle them," he said. "If the PUK and the KDP reach agreement, we'll have no problem left. We'll become one of the strongest forces in the region."

"We were never afraid, and we launched the revolution"

Asked about the withdrawal of coalition forces from the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, Haci Mahmoud said: "When we launched the revolution, coalition forces were helping Saddam in Baghdad. US President Ronald Reagan's special envoy, Donald Rumsfeld, was an adviser to Saddam Hussein. We were never afraid, and we launched the revolution anyway. We need to strengthen our own will — we must have a strong will."

Rumsfeld, serving as Reagan's special envoy to the Middle East, met Saddam Hussein in Baghdad in December 1983.

Returning to the example of the Houthis, Haci Mahmoud continued: "We must have will. We are a nation of more than 50 million people. Our land, our country, our place — everything about us is different from them. Why should we defer to them? No — we must protect our nation with our own blood."

"No one granted it to the Kurds"

Asked by reporters whether the Kurdistan Region is strong, Haci Mahmoud replied: "Yes, we are strong, strong, strong. Those who talk up the region's troubles to spread fear aren't being realistic. The Kurdistan Region is a constitutional region with a ratified status. A nation won it with its blood. For 106 years, the people of this region have given their blood and their lives for it. The Sheikh Mahmoud government was founded 106 years ago. No one granted this to the Kurds — the Kurdish nation earned it by giving its blood."

Background

Haci Mahmoud's remarks came amid two other developments. Kurdistan Region Interior Minister Reber Ahmed had announced that coalition forces were beginning to withdraw from the region and, under the agreement, must leave by the end of September. Separately, 23 months after the October 2024 parliamentary elections, no new government has yet been formed; talks between the KDP and the PUK have intensified in recent days.