U.S. State Department’s Spokesperson, Heather Nauert said during a press conference on Thursday, January 4, that the U.S. was pleased to see some Kurdish and Iraqi government’s figures sitting down to discuss the issues between the region and Iraq, NRT reported.

“That proves that the Iraqi Government certainly does not need the U.S. Government to help them hold hands … we’re really happy to see that those conversations are really starting to take place,” Nauert added.

The United States continues to urge the Kurdistan Region and Iraq to hold talks to reach “an understanding over any outstanding issues that are in accordance with Iraqi law,” she continued.

A delegation from the Change Movement (Gorran), the Kurdistan Islamic Group (KIG) and Coalition for Democracy and Justice (CDJ) visited Baghdad on Wednesday to ease the relations between the region and Baghdad.

The KIG and Gorran are parties who recently withdrew from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Coalition for Democracy and Justice is a newly-established party.

The delegation of the three parties met with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Thursday. Following the meeting, they issued a statement saying Abadi vowed to pay salaries of the Kurdistan Region's public servants after they complete an audit of their numbers.

Reporter’s code: 50101