The president of Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region, Massud Barzani, visited Baghdad on Sunday for the first time in years for talks with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on an array of disputes

The president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, Massud Barzani, visited Baghdad on Sunday for the first time in years for talks with Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki on an array of disputes.
  
Barzani met Maliki, after which the two held a joint news conference in the capital's heavily-fortified Green Zone -- a major change from last year, when the Kurdish leader was advocating the premier's removal from office.
  
"We discussed disputes and we agreed to work on passing frozen laws in the parliament, especially the oil and gas law," Maliki said, referring to long-stalled legislation governing the exploitation of Iraq's rich energy resources.
  
"We agreed to cooperate and work together and to face everything that threatens Iraq and the (Kurdish) region, and we consider this a national duty," said Barzani.