Iraqi political leaders joined Wednesday to discuss a roadmap for ending current political crisis, as part of an initiative for national dialogue, with all major parties except the Sadrists represented.

Iraq's firebrand Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr backtracked Tuesday after earlier urging his supporters to join a massive rally as a standoff with his political rivals appeared to be getting worse.

The political crisis resulting from the conflict between Iraq's two main Shiite groups, the Sadrists and the Coordination Framework, is becoming more complicated with fewer options for a solution.

Saleh Muslim says that the negotiations between the Kurds and Damascus have not made any progress, and instead Russia has given the green light to Turkey to conduct ground operations against the Syrian Kurds, adding that the Russian government has agreed to Turkey drone attacks against the Kurds.

The AKP government, which faces an uphill battle to mend ties with the Alevi community ahead of next year’s elections, pledges to bring culprits to justice.

The Kurdish National Council announced it would hold its fourth congress after several years of delay.

A member of the central committee of the Kurdish Democratic Party in Syria (P.D.K.S), stated: Turkey did not receive a message for a ground attack from Russia and the United States, but it wants to make dissatisfaction among the people by destabilizing the situation in northern Syria.

Dr. Zheger Hassan believes Turkey has a lot of influence in the Kurdistan Region and as a result, there is no need to add it to its own soil.

The head of the Kurdish Democratic Day Party in Syria stated: The self-governing administration is a successful example of democracy in the war-torn Syria, and Turkey does not want to see the existence of another Kurdish region on its borders.

The head of the Kurdistani Liberal Union Party stated the Kurds in Syria are discussing the formation of an operation room against a possible Turkish attack and other political issues with the central government in Damascus.

The meeting among the heads of Iraq political parties held on Wednesday, August 17, at the presidential palace in Baghdad was a positive development, said Sirwa Abdulwahid, an MP and bloc leader of the New Generation Movement (NGM) in the Iraqi Parliament.

The Commander-in-Chief of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), Mazloum Abdi, said on Tuesday, August 16, the SDF is in constant contact with the US and the international coalition over Turkey’s threats to attack Syrian Kurdistan or Rojava.

The Coordination Framework has called on Iraqis to make preparations for a major demonstration to demand the formation of the new government in the interest of the people.

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) politburo released a statement on Saturday calling for the parties to reach an agreement and hold an early election in Iraq.

The Sadrist movement in a statement set the next Saturday to hold a million-man peaceful demonstration in Baghdad calling its supporters to join from all Iraqi provinces.