Erbil, Kurdistan, Iraq (KRG.org) – Yesterday Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani held meetings with French Ambassador Denis Gauer, Chairman of the British Parliament’s Defence Committee Rory Stewart, and Polish Ambassador Stanislaw Smolen to discuss the current security and humanitarian situation.
The Prime Minister expressed his gratitude to each delegation for the attention and support that has been extended to the people and the government of the Kurdistan Region during this time of crisis.
French Ambassador Gauer pays the Prime Minister a farewell visit
The Prime Minister thanked the French Ambassador for his significant role in expanding bilateral relations between Kurdistan and France throughout his tenure as ambassador in Baghdad, highlighting the crucial political decision taken by the French government to fully support Kurdistan during the current crisis. He wished Ambassador Gauer success in his future postings.
For his part, the Ambassador remarked upon the stability, security and progress achieved in economic and social fields in Kurdistan. He reiterated his country's continuing solidarity with the Kurdistan Region in light of recent events and emphasised that France supports the Kurdistan Region in its efforts to combat terrorism.
Ambassador Gauer recalled key telephone conversations between President François Hollande and President Masoud Barzani, also pointing to the important visit of the French Foreign Minister to Erbil last week and France’s role in urging the international community and European countries to support Kurdistan against the terrorists and provide assistance to the displaced.
Prime Minister Barzani provided an update on the progress of the Peshmerga forces and indicated that the KRG requires more international aid to assist the hundreds of thousands of displaced. The humanitarian crisis is extremely difficult and the relief operations needed are beyond the government’s capacity.
The Prime Minister also suggested convening an international conference for donor countries and international organisations to ensure full coordination of humanitarian assistance for the displaced people and refugees. Most reside in Kurdistan’s cities and urgent, well-coordinated assistance is needed to respond to the humanitarian crisis.
British parliamentarian Rory Stewart receives an update on security and humanitarian progress
Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron requested that Member of Parliament Rory Stewart lead a delegation to Erbil to meet with KRG officials and receive an update on the latest security and humanitarian developments. Mr Stewart is the Chairman of the British Parliament’s Defence Select Committee.
Prime Minister Barzani updated the delegation on the recent advances of the Peshmerga forces on all fronts. He also discussed the latest developments regarding the situation of the hundreds of thousands of internally displaced Yezidi Kurds from Sinjar, Christians from Mosul and elsewhere, and other displaced ethnic and religious minorities that have taken refuge in the Kurdistan Region.
The Prime Minister restated the difficulty in providing adequate aid, noting that Iraq’s federal government has not provided any assistance and has still not released the Kurdistan Region’s budget, which has been withheld since the beginning of the year. The role of the international community in providing aid is therefore essential.
Both sides stressed the importance of international support for the Kurdistan Region’s fight against the terrorists, and the need for such support to continue, as the terrorists threaten the Kurdistan Region and ethnic and religious minorities in particular. Both agreed upon the need for continuous international aerial protection around Sinjar to prevent terrorist violence against minority civilians.
Prime Minister Barzani said that Iraq’s problems require political solutions. He noted that Iraq has fundamentally changed in character since the terrorists seized the city of Mosul, and therefore a new approach would be necessary to identify and implement solutions. He hoped that Iraq’s new government would bring all Iraqis together, represent the rights and the wishes of all ethnic and religious communities, and learn from the mistakes of the previous administration.
Polish delegation delivers tonnes of humanitarian aid to Kurdistan
Polish Ambassador Stanislaw Smolen and a delegation from Poland’s Foreign Ministry arrived in Erbil with a cargo plane of humanitarian aid for internally displaced people taking refuge in Kurdistan.
Prime Minister Barzani conveyed his government’s gratitude to Poland for supplying the much-needed assistance. He provided the delegation with the latest security update in the Region’s fight against the terrorists, including progress achieved by the Peshmerga forces, and both sides agreed on the need for international support for the KRG in combating the terrorist group.
The Prime Minister indicated that the KRG still seeks support and aid from the international community in general, and Europe in particular, in order to fight the terrorists and meet the basic needs of the displaced.
The Polish Foreign Ministry’s special envoy restated his country's support for Kurdistan and congratulated the Prime Minister on the victories of the Peshmerga forces. He highlighted the emergency meeting of the European Union’s foreign ministers in which Poland reiterated its military and humanitarian support for the Kurdistan Region, adding that Poland has played a crucial role in supporting the KRG.
Prime Minister Barzani commended the delegation for Poland’s stance and called upon other European countries to come forward with military and humanitarian support to help assure Kurdistan’s victory, on behalf of the world, against the terrorists.
The Polish Foreign Ministry’s special envoy emphasised his country’s wish to send more Polish companies and businesspeople to Kurdistan to convey the message that the Region is secure for business, investment, and trade.