In a statement posted on his official Facebook page, Sheikh Mustafa said that the two sides discussed ways to work together to advance the reform effort, NRT reported.

The Peshmerga is notoriously divided on the basis of partisan affiliation, with large sections controlled either by the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) or the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). More than a dozen brigades are under the control of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs, which is ostensibly non-partisan.

The goal of Peshmerga reform is to further reduce the role of the parties, but progress has been slow.

The meeting comes at a sensitive time both locally and geopolitically.

Over the past month, the PUK, with which the Peshmerga Forces 70 Command is affiliated, has been rocked by a power struggle between co-presidents Lahur Sheikh Jangi and Bafel Talabani, with control of the security forces a critically important point.

Additionally, the US is in the process of fully shifting away from a combat role in Iraq to one focused entirely on training and advising its partners, which includes the Peshmerga, a development sealed during Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s visit to Washington last month.

Reporter's code: 50101