The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has signed a nearly $1 million contract with the U.S. lobbying firm Ballard Partners to bolster its political and economic engagement with the US administration.

The one-year agreement commits the PUK to paying $75,000 per month, billed in quarterly installments of $225,000, totaling $900,000 annually. The deal also covers reasonable out-of-pocket costs, such as travel and registration fees.

This marks the PUK’s first large-scale lobbying effort in Washington, in contrast to the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), which has maintained such contracts for decades. The agreement identifies KRG deputy prime minister Qubad Talabani, who is PUK president Bafel Talabani’s brother, as the party’s point of engagement with Ballard Partners.

The contract was registered under the US Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) on April 27, about a month before the KRG signed two US energy agreements for oil and gas field development in PUK-controlled areas.

According to the filing, Ballard Partners will “provide consultation to the Union and assist in establishing communication with American government officials, policymakers, non-governmental organizations, and other U.S. figures.” The firm will also “advocate for the Union before the U.S. government on issues the party deems necessary and appropriate.”

The Kurdistan Development Association signed the agreement on behalf of the PUK.

Ballard Partners, founded in Florida, is a prominent lobbying firm with close ties to senior figures in Donald Trump’s circle, including White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi.

Since the Assad regime’s collapse, the weakening of the Iranian axis, and Trump’s return to power in early 2025, Bafel Talabani’s rhetoric has shifted subtly but significantly. He appears determined to distance the PUK from perceptions of alignment with the Iranian axis while seeking deeper integration into the US orbit.

This balancing act is not entirely new for the PUK. In early 2024, well before Trump’s electoral prospects solidified, Bafel Talabani publicly called in Baghdad for US troops not only to remain in Iraq but to increase their presence, directly contradicting pro-Iran Shia militias. The PUK’s Counter-Terrorism Group has been a key partner of U.S.-led coalition forces in Iraq. Yet Talabani has simultaneously maintained strategic relationships with pro-Iran actors, building coalitions with their allies in the Nineveh provincial council and partnering with the Babylon Movement, a US-sanctioned pro-Iran Christian faction, in Kirkuk.