Qubad Talabani and Darbaz Kosrat Rasul met with representatives of a number of European countries and representatives of the European Union in KRG, led by British Consul General Rosie Keif.
In the meeting held on May 4, 2023, which was attended by Daban Shadala, Deputy Head of the KRG Foreign Relations Office, Qubad Talabani and Darbaz Kosrat Rasul explained the position of the PUK on elections that needs to be fair and inclusive.
They stressed that the Kurdistan Region has faced criticism in many areas such as violations of human rights, freedom of expression and freedom of the press and we do not want to face criticism from our friends because of the postponement of elections.
Qubad Talabani said they have agreed on most issues in the previous talks and the only point of disagreement left is the issue of minorities. Darbaz Kosrat Rasul explained that the parliamentary seats for the minorities were determined from the beginning at the request of President Mam Jalal and the PUK and even increasing the number of seats to 11 seats was proposed by the PUK. Therefore, the PUK considers itself to be the defender of the rights of Kurdistan's minorities more than any other party.
They said that PUK’s only demand is for the minorities to represent themselves, and not be represented by others. "Our demand is both logical and not so difficult that it cannot be implemented and this should be the demand of all parties," he said.
In the meeting, the EU delegation expressed their concern that the delay in the elections will tarnish the reputation of the region and the institutions will lose their legitimacy, in this context, they called for an agreement as soon as possible.
In response to the demand, Qubad Talabani said that they welcome any initiative and are ready to reach an agreement at any time that our friends and allies designate, because our demands are free and fair elections.