Barzani and Maliki trade visits, promise co-operation

President of the autonomous Kurdish region Massoud Barzani made a rare foray into Baghdad on 7 July, where he met Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki. Temporarily putting their mutual animosity aside, the two men were at times almost jocular at a joint news conference in the heavily fortified Green Zone; Barzani went so far as to call himself and Maliki – who is more usually cast as his sworn enemy – brothers.