Since October 2013, the Mutahidun party that runs Anbar has tried to negotiate with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to put an end to the protests in the province. There have been several meetings between officials in Baghdad and Anbar over the last several weeks to try to work out some concessions between the two that might appease the demonstrators. Both sides are worried about the increasing terrorist threat in Anbar, and Mutahidun would also like to focus upon governance that would require the cooperation of Baghdad. As those steps were being taken however, the protesters said they were no longer interested in the talks. That leaves the future of this effort up in the air.

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