Initiative for Diyarbakır visit came from Barzani

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Masoud Barzani entered Turkey through the Habur gate in the southeastern province of Şırnak. AA photo

The initiative for Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Masoud Barzani’s recent visit to Diyarbakır came from Barzani himself, sources familiar with the issue have told the Hürriyet Daily News.

Barzani’s wish to travel to Diyarbakır was voiced at a meeting between KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and Erdoğan in Istanbul weeks ago, the sources said. Nechirvan Barzani told Erdoğan about an invitation delivered to Masoud Barzani for a wedding ceremony in Diyarbakır, to which Erdoğan responded by suggesting the idea of a joint visit to Turkey’s Kurdish-majority southeastern province. Barzani arrived in Turkey alongside renowned Kurdish singer Şivan Perwer last weekend, through the Habur border gate in the southeastern province of Şırnak, where crowds had gathered in welcome.

Perwer had previously been unwilling to travel to Turkey, but the KRG president was eventually able to convince him to realize his return to Turkey after 27 years in exile. Perwer had been invited to Turkey dozens of times before but had declined all offers.

Barzani’s visit to Diyarbakır came at a time when a number of Kurdish groups in southeast Turkey are reportedly attempting to form a new pro-Barzani political party.