No agreement reached between Iraqi Kurds in Washington

The US State Department said on Wednesday that the delegations of the Kurdistan Democratic Party led by Mesoud al-Barzani and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan led by Jalal Talibani have not yet reached an agreement and that their talks which started in Washington one month before are still continuing.

The two parties, who are in conflict over controlling northern Iraq, are trying to eliminate their disputes in order to implement the agreement they signed in Washington in 1998 which proposes to form a provisional coalition government in the area, which is outside Baghdad's control.

Meanwhile US State Department Spokesman James Rubin said "The delegations from the KDP and PUK have engaged in intensive, detailed and positive discussions regarding the implementation of the September agreement."

The US State Department canceled two press conferences in this respect. Rubin denied that this cancelation indicates that negotiations between the two sides are not proceeding well, saying, "I wouldn't assume that the arrangements with the press are necessarily decisive indicators of good or bad news."