Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani met Chairman of the Committee on Armed Services in the US Senate, Carl Levin on Wednesday.

In their meeting in Salahaddin, President Barzani and Senator Levin discussed the fight against ISIS terrorists and the political process to form a new government in Baghdad.

Senator Levin said that the people of America admire and feel very close to the Kurdish people, and expressed their support for the Kurdistan Region peshmerga forces in fighting terrorists. He also expressed his admiration for the KRG for protecting Yezidi, Christian and other minorities, and for the traditions of peaceful co-existence and religious tolerance that exist in Kurdistan.

For his part, President Barzani thanked the US President, government and people for their military and humanitarian support in this fight and stressed that the Peshmerga forces are capable to take the fight to ISIS terrorists provided they are supplied with the right weapons. He said that with the support of the US military air strikes, the Peshmerga have made several gains recently and they would continue to push the terrorists back.

Both sides agreed that defeating terrorists needs collective action and cooperation by all sides and that political progress in Baghdad has the potential to offer an opportunity for peace and stability in the country.