Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has met leaders of the country's Kurdish region in an effort to resolve the regional disputes.

In his first visit to Kurdistan as prime minister, Maliki attended a joint press conference with regional president Massud Barzani and Iraqi President Jalal Talabani, AFP reported Sunday.

Maliki said "An appointed team will start tonight to discuss the political and strategic conflicts," and "A delegation from Kurdistan will come to Baghdad, and I hope that (regional Prime Minister Nechirvan) Barzani will be among the delegation, in order to discuss unfinished issues and resolve the problems."

The prime minister arrived in Kurdistan's second city Sulaimaniyah early on Sunday.

He said he was "satisfied with this meeting, and we agreed that these meetings should continue at the leadership level" and below.

Barzani's Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Talabani's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) have for decades dominated politics in Kurdistan. Their joint list also secured 57 percent of the vote in the parliamentary poll last month.

Despite his pre-election remarks over the Kurds' long-standing claims to Kirkuk, Barzani said on Sunday that he was "flexible" and that he and Maliki had "agreed to resolve the problems between us."

He formerly claimed that he would not "compromise" on the Kirkuk issue.

The Kurdish local government had been at odds with Baghdad over several issues, including alleged attempts by Kurdish leaders to extend their territory by deploying militias outside Kurdistan.

The Kurdish government has also been seeking to control the ethnically-mixed, oil-rich city of Kirkuk.

SB/HGH