In late March, Barzani’s cousin and Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani ordered a force of Peshmerga into the strategic area, which straddles Erbil and Sulaimani governorates and abuts territory in Qandil controlled by the Kurdistan Workers’ Party. The pair are both top leaders within the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).

In response, the PUK sent a Peshmerga unit under its control to observe.

In early April, the PKK sent a group of its own fighters in to the immediate area, leading to a situation where three armed units were encamped within a few hundred meters of each other.

Since then, the KDP, PUK, and PKK have engaged in rhetorical sniping, exchanging letters and statements criticizing each other’s motives and actions.

During a press conference, President Nechirvan Barzani sought to downplay the tensions with the PUK and urged the parties to work together.

“From the first day, I knew that nothing would happen between the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Zini Warte,” Barzani said in a statement.

“We do not have any problem with the PUK. They are our main partners in the government,” Barzani said of the KDP’s approach. “If [the ministry Peshmerga] are not needed there, they will withdraw.”

“We will meet with the PUK’s political bureau to solve it,” he added.

However, with the regard to the presence of PKK fighters, Barzani took a much harsher line.

“The presence of the Kurdistan Workers' Party in Kurdistan Region is not legitimate and it is against the constitution,” he said.

“What the PKK is doing now is not helping the Kurdistan Region. On the contrary, it is creating problems for the Kurdistan Region. We have told them to withdraw from their base in Zini Warte because we cannot protect them,” Barzani said.

Over the past week, Turkey has conducted three separate airstrikes on PKK targets in area, killing at least three PKK fighters.

Despite President Barzani’s appraisal of the situation, KRG Peshmerga Affairs Deputy Minister Sarbast Lazgin earlier on Monday blamed the PUK of precipitating the situation when it brought in its own Peshmerga unit to observe.

He said that no decision has yet been made to withdraw the ministry Peshmerga unit from the area.

“When the PUK’s [Brigade] 70 forces came to Zini Warte holding the party’s flag, that is what made the problem escalate. When the forces were relocated. Neither the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs nor the government was aware of it,” Lazgin said.

Lazgin also echoed Barzani’s comments with regard to the PKK, saying that its forces were not welcomed by the authorities in the Kurdistan Region.

Reporter’s code: 50101