 Officials said the deal between the Shia clergy-backed United Iraqi Alliance and the Kurdish parties opens the way for naming a Cabinet when Iraq's democratically elected National Assembly convenes on Wednesday. The Kurds agreed to support the alliance's candidate for prime minister, Ibrahim al-Jaafari. In exchange, the alliance will back PUK leader Jalal Talabani as Iraq's first-ever Kurdish president. The Kurds will receive one major Cabinet post, one fewer than they demanded. On the thorny issue of territory, officials in both political camps said the deal provides for the eventual return of 100,000 Kurdish refugees to the oil-rich city of Kirkuk, southwest of Mosul. The government will discuss returning the refugees and redrawing existing Kurdish autonomous regions to include the city, according to the deal. |