BAGHDAD

Iraqi Shia cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Masoud Barzani, on Thursday, agreed to move forward with forming a government that includes Shias, Sunnis, and Kurds.

A joint statement issued following a phone call between the two leaders read they discussed “the necessary steps for forming a national majority government.”

According to the statement, the two sides agreed to hold a meeting for the parliamentary blocs of the trilateral alliance.

The alliance consists of al-Sadr’s Sairoon Alliance -- which won 73 seats in the 329-member parliament during the Oct. 10 elections --, the Sovereignty Alliance (a coalition of Sunni parliamentary groups with 71 seats in parliament), and the KDP with 31 seats.

Iraq has been unable to form a new government since the Oct. 10 parliamentary elections amid differences between different political parties.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar