Iraqi Kurdish leader Massud Barzani called yesterday for the right to self-determination for the northern Iraqi region, a move that could lead to a break-up of the country.

His remarks come as Prime Minister-designate Nuri al-Maliki attempts to form a cabinet, with Barzani’s bloc expected to obtain several ministries, and the Kurdistan region mired in disputes with the Baghdad government over land and oil.

Speaking at a congress of his Kurdistan Democratic Party, Barzani said “the issue of self-determination,” which was considered “a right,” would be presented to those attending the conference “to be studied and discussed”.

His comments mark the first time Barzani has officially presented the issue to the KDP’s congress, with the proposal set to be voted on during the week-long meeting that opened yesterday.

The audience included President Jalal Talabani, a fellow Kurd; Maliki; parliament speaker Osama al-Nujaifi and Iyad Allawi, whose Iraqiya bloc won the most seats in March elections.

The first gathering of its kind since 1999 is to see more than 1,000 delegates elect around 50 new members to the KDP’s top leadership committee.

Maliki, who was awarded the premiership on November 25, has two more weeks in which to form a cabinet. Iraq has been without a new government since elections last March.

The KDP is a key member of Maliki’s governing coalition, and the Kurdish leader played a major role in bringing Iraq’s divided political factions together to agree a power-sharing deal.

The party, which is part of a joint slate with Talabani’s Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, controls a substantial majority of seats in the Kurdish parliament and jointly holds 43 seats in Baghdad’s assembly with the PUK.

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