By Ihsan Al-Mufti   

ANKARA, Turkey, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- Iraqi Kurdish leaders representing 35 parties gathered Sunday in northern Iraq to discuss draft proposals of a new constitution before presenting them to the Kurdish parliament.

The head of the Democratic Socialist Party of Kurdistan, Mohammad Haji Mahmoud, said the parties were meeting in Kowaisanjak, some 50 kilometers east of Arbil in northern Iraq.

In a telephone interview with United Press International, Mahmoud said deliberations were focused on draft proposals prepared by the two major parties controlling northern Iraq: the National Unity Party, headed by Jalal Talbani, and the Democratic Kurdish Party, headed by Masoud Barzani.

He said the meeting was held after an invitation by the two major parties to debate the proposals and finalize "a unified Kurdish text that seeks a federal, free and democratic system in Iraq."

Mahmoud added that the final drafts would be presented to the Kurdish parliament and proposed to the rest of the Iraqi opposition groups.

He said the objective of Sunday's meeting was to "draw the largest number of Kurdish parties to prepare a unified text on the two drafts that involve the fate of all the citizens of Iraq, Arabs and Kurds, Turkmen and Assyrians, and all the ethnic and religious trends."

The Kurdish official added that a large number of intellectuals and lawyers were expected to take part in the discussions before presenting the final drafts to the Kurdish parliament.

The parliament, based in Arbil, resumed its sessions earlier this month with the blessing of the United States, Britain and other European countries.

Kurdish parties have controlled northern Iraq since 1991.

Mahmoud said most of the parties supported the proposals on a federation, which he said meant that "Iraq's Kurds are not seeking independence or the establishment of a Kurdish entity separate from the region."

The Kurdish federation draft, as well as the resumption of the Kurdish parliament, has drawn concern from Turkish officials, who threatened to use force should the Kurds attempt to establish an independent state in northern Iraq should the US launch military operations against Iraq.

Turkey, whose south is dominated by a Kurdish population, fears such a move would infect its own Kurds to seek independence.

Iraq's main Kurdish groups have assured Ankara they did not intend on declaring an independent state in northern Iraq, where the regime in Baghdad has no control.

Official Kurdish delegations held talks with Turkish officials in Ankara on Saturday, as well as with Western ambassadors, aimed at clarifying the Kurdish position and defuse the tension with Turkey.