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Rival Iraqi Kurds start unity talks

BAGHDAD, June 6 (UPI) -- Talks aimed at unifying two rival Kurdish factions in Iraq have begun with a goal of establishing a joint Cabinet for self-rule in the Kurdistan region.

At the first meeting of the newly elected 111-member regional parliament in Irbil, Jalal Talabani, Iraq's first Kurdish president said the first priority was to "draft a permanent constitution that guarantees equality for all of Iraqi society."

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Kurdish leaders said they intend to form a Cabinet comprised of the Kurdistan Democratic Party led by Massoud Barzani, which controls the center and west of the zone, and Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.

The two men have agreed to merge their governments that would see Barzani become the president of Kurdistan in exchange for supporting Talabani's candidacy for the largely symbolic presidency of Iraq, the Financial Times said Monday. The joint government will then attempt to merge the competing ministries the two parties have run since fighting a civil war in 1996.

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