Shwani told NRT that the several meetings have already been held involving the PUK, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), UNAMI monitors, and the central government.
Those meetings reportedly focused on normalizing the military and security situation and problems related to agricultural farmlands in Kirkuk governorate, which have suffered from devastating fires over the last month.
“The meetings have passed important steps. In particular, we have reached a phase where we can make decisions about security and military issues. I hope we can reach an agreement in the near future,” Shwani added.
The situation in Kirkuk deteriorated in the aftermath of the Kurdistan Region’s independence referendum in September 2017.
On October 16, 2017, the Iraqi army and the Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Forces) pushed Kurdish forces out of the city. Subsequently, Islamic State (IS) has taken advantage of poor coordination between the Peshmerga and central government forces to wage a guerilla campaign in the province.
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