Panorama of the week: KDP gives Turkey free rein to intervene in Kirkuk

Over the past week, Arab newspapers touched upon the crisis of forming a local government in Kirkuk, in addition to the visit of the Iraqi Foreign Minister to Washington.

The Turkish perspective dominates efforts to resolve the crisis of forming the local government in Kirkuk

Under this title, the London-based Al-Arab newspaper referred to the crisis of forming a local government for Kirkuk Governorate, which is entering a new turn of complexity by becoming part of the political battle that the Kurdistan Democratic Party is waging against its opponents, led by the National Union Party, and it does not provide any of the options, including opening the door for Turkish intervention in the way the governorate is administered, according to the newspaper.

The idea of alternating the leadership of the local government of Kirkuk Governorate in northern Iraq has emerged strongly as a solution to the government formation crisis, which is based on overcoming the results of the recent elections and adopting the principle of alternating among the Kurds, Arabs, and Turkmen to fill the position of governor.

Applying this principle means that the position will automatically go to the Turkmen component, given that the Kurds previously held it until 2017, and then the Arabs took over. This means that it is now the turn of the Turkmen, and it was proposed by Turkey through its Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

Ankara aimed to enable its Iraqi Turkmen allies to lead the governorate, in which Turkey has not stopped trying to establish a foothold due to its strategic importance, especially its richness in oil.

Al-Sudani prepares to visit Washington: a bag full of files

In Iraq, the Lebanese newspaper Al-Akhbar reported, citing sources close to the Iraqi government, that the visit of Iraqi Prime Minister Muhammad Shiaa Al-Sudani to Washington, scheduled for next April 15, is full of many and accumulated files, ranging from the presence of American forces in Iraq, to the sanctions imposed by Washington on Iraqi banks, and the operations carried out by the resistance against American bases, as well as the liberation of Iranian funds frozen in the Commercial Bank of Iraq.

The sources report that "such an exceptional visit is not devoid of Iranian messages on the level of the nuclear file, Iran's position on the events in Gaza, and its accusation of various charges regarding the attack on American battleships in the Red Sea. Thus, the Sudanese seeks to establish a bilateral relationship away from tensions."

T/ Satt.

ANHA