Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq (dfr.gov.krd) - The Chief of Staff to the Kurdistan Region President, Dr Fuad Hussein, and the Head of the Department of Foreign Relations, Minister Falah Mustafa, today briefed diplomats and representatives of international organizations on the latest security, humanitarian and political developments.

Minister Mustafa thanked diplomats for attending the session and for their confidence in the stability and security of the Kurdistan Region. He gave an overview of the security, humanitarian and political developments in the Kurdistan Region.

The Minister expressed appreciation of the people of Kurdistan Region to the members of the Counter-ISIS Coalition for supporting Kurdistan Region in the fight against international terrorism. He also thanked members of the international community, UN agencies and international organizations for providing humanitarian assistance to the refugees and displaced people who have fled to the safety of the Kurdistan Region. 

Dr. Fuad Hussein, Chief of Staff to the President, briefed the diplomats on the political and legal challenges facing the issue of the presidency of Kurdistan Region. He announced “We are taking the legal and political challenges pertaining to the issue of presidency very seriously. The five major political parties are engaged in lengthy negotiations to reach a consensus on that matter.”

“We are a democracy in the making. Our political parties have chosen to resolve their differences through dialogue and negotiation. We consider this as a very positive development in the democratic process of the Kurdistan Region,” the Chief of Staff to the President added.

During the meeting several diplomats reiterated their support for the Kurdistan Region and praised democratic maturity of Kurdish political parties.

On behalf of the diplomatic corps, the Consul General of Palestine, who serves as the dean of the diplomats, Nazmi Hazouri, thanked the DFR for the briefing and highlighted the importance of a united and strong Kurdistan Region for the regional peace and stability.
Consul General of the Republic of France, Alain Guépratte, conveyed “The French authorities are closely monitoring developments in the Kurdistan Region. We have confidence in the Kurdistan Region and we fully support the region’s effort to overcome the current challenges. We believe that the political parties will be able to reach a consensus on the issue of the presidency of the Kurdistan Region.”

Head of the Consular office of the Republic of Italy, Carmelo Ficarra, stated, “Italy shares the same sentiment of France towards Kurdistan Region. Italy believes in the stability and security of the Kurdistan Region and it will continue to support the region in all fronts.”

Head of the UNAMI Regional Office in Erbil, Sokol Kondi, expressed the support of the United Nations to the stability of the Kurdistan Region. “Political differences need to be resolved through dialogue and negotiation. I commend the Kurdish political parties for seeking democratic tools to reach an agreement on the issue of Presidency of the Kurdistan Region, this is a positive step forward in the democratic process of this region,” he added.

Several other diplomats including representatives of UK, Iran and Kuwait exchanged thoughts on the developments in the Kurdistan Region.

The meeting was attended  by representatives of Palestine, Republic of France, United Arab Emirates, Republic of Turkey, People’s Republic of China, United Kingdom, Republic of Italy, Republic of South Korea, Federal Republic of Germany,  Republic of Romania,  Islamic Republic of Iran,  Russian Federation,  Republic of Hungary,  Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,  State of Kuwait,  Kingdom of Netherlands,  Arab Republic of Egypt,  United States of America,  Czech Republic,  Canada,  Republic of Bulgaria, Republic of Sudan and UNAMI. 

Kurdistan Region Presidency’s Chief of Staff Fuad Hussein announced that President Masoud Barzani has set the 20 August 2015 as the date for presidential elections in the Kurdistan Region. He added that the President has tasked the relevant KRG authorities to ensure fair and free elections are held for the President of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.

Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq (dfr.krg.org) – Today the President’s Chief of Staff, Dr Fuad Hussein, the Head of KRG Department of Foreign Relations, Minister Falah Mustafa, and the Head of KRG Department of Media and Information, Minister Safeen Dizayee briefed diplomats and representatives of international organizations on the latest developments.

Minister Mustafa thanked diplomats and representatives of international organizations for their attendance and gave an overview of the recent agreement between Erbil and Baghdad, the fight against Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), as well as humanitarian and financial challenges facing the Kurdistan Region.

“We have always preferred to resolve our disputes with Baghdad through dialogue and negotiation. The recently reached agreement is a temporary agreement but we consider it a good start. It is in the interests of both Erbil and Baghdad. We are committed to continue our cooperation with Baghdad in order to finalize more lasting agreements on all of outstanding issues between Erbil and Baghdad,” Minister Mustafa commented on the agreement. 

Minister Dizayee, who was a member of the KRG delegation to Baghdad, said “The atmosphere of the meeting was very positive. Both sides were determined to reach a mutually beneficial agreement and we saw real desire by Prime Minister Abadi and member of his cabinet to resolve outstanding issues with Erbil.”

Highlighting the advances of Kurdistan’s Peshmerga forces against the ISIS terrorists, Minister Mustafa said, “Thanks to the support of our coalition partners that have provided our forces with military equipments, weapons, and training, and thanks to the bravery of our Peshmerga forces, we have managed to regain control of the vast majority of territory that had been occupied by the ISIS in early August.”

Dr. Hussein emphasized, “Achieving greater security success and stability in Iraq will largely depend on progress in the political process. A genuine power sharing among the Kurds, Shiites, and Sunnis is the only possible way forward.” 

Minister Mustafa also updated the attendants on the latest humanitarian developments and the needs of refugees and internally displaced persons who have taken refuge in the Kurdistan Region. He added, “KRG has made concerted efforts to alleviate the sufferings of refugees and IDPs but with our limited resources we are unable to provide adequate relief and assistance.”

Referring to the impact of financial and security challenges on the economic process in the Kurdistan Region during the past several months, Minster Mustafa said, “Today, with the new agreement in hand for revenue sharing and energy, and with steady progress against ISIS, we look with optimism to the period ahead.”

During the meeting, Dr Hussein and Minister Dizayee provided more details on the recent agreement between Erbil and Baghdad as well as the security and economic cooperation between both sides in the face of current challenges.

Consul General of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Fayiz F. Khouri, the new Dean of the diplomatic corps, thanked the DFR for arranging the meeting and expressed his gratitude for the comprehensive briefing on behalf of the diplomats. During the meeting, diplomats and representatives exchanged thoughts on the recent developments. They commended KRG for sheltering hundreds of thousands of refugees and IDPs and highly praised the role of Peshmerga forces in the fight against ISIS terrorists.

The meeting was attended by diplomats from Jordan, Palestine, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Turkey, Poland, United Kingdom, China, Germany, Russia, Hungary, Egypt, Italy, Romania, The Netherlands, South Korea, Czech Republic, Iran, France, Bulgaria, Japan, UNAMI. 

Erbil, Kurdistan Region – Iraq 

August 14, 2014

The European Union.

Kurdistan Region has been an outstanding model of stability, democracy and peaceful coexistence in Iraq during the last decade. Kurdistan has been a safe haven for all Iraqi components such as, Arabs, Turkomen, Christians, and others. Since 2006, hundreds of thousands of Iraqi internally displaced people have taken shelter in Kurdistan fleeing violence and bloodshed in the other parts of Iraq. 

Currently, this safe haven is under a serious danger by the Islamic State of Iraq and Sham (ISIS). Last week, the ISIS militants launched a wide spread attack against the Kurdistan Region territories, especially in Sinjar, which is dominantly inhabited by Yazidis and areas to the east and north part of the city of Mosul, which have been the homeland of Christians for thousands of years. The recent ISIS aggression on the Kurdistan Region resulted in the killing of hundreds of people and displacement of around one million people. 

Despite facing serious humanitarian and security challenges, the Iraqi government has only played a very limited role in supporting the Kurdish Peshmerga forces and alleviating the suffering of the refugees and IDPs. Thus, the KRG is under huge humanitarian and security pressure. The KRG is doing whatever it can to provide humanitarian relief for the refugees and IDPs and at the same time the Kurdish Peshmerga forces are fighting ISIS militants on behalf of the world. While we appreciate the support we have received from our friends and allies, we call upon international community to provide further humanitarian and military assistance. 

The Kurdistan Region Government respectfully requests the members of the European Union to urgently come forward and offer humanitarian aids to the IDPs who have taken refuge in the Kurdistan region. It is worth mentioning that the displaced people are suffering severely due to the lack of shelter, food and other basic needs. Urgent aids are needed to save lives of thousands of people. We also call upon the members of the EU to provide the peshmarga forces with necessary arms to deter ISIS offences and protect civilians and displaced people. The Kurdish forces are in an asymmetrical warfare against an organized and well-armed terrorist group. With no doubt, rapid equipment of Peshmarga forces with heavy and sophisticated weapons will change the equation in the battlefield in favor of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces. 

We hope that the members of the European Union will urgently and positively respond to our request. 

Sincerely, 

Fuad Hussein 
Chief of Staff
Kurdistan Region Presidency

Erbil, Kurdistan, Iraq (KRG.org) – The Foreign Minister of Iraq, Hoshyar Zebari, and the Kurdistan Region President’s Chief of Staff, Dr Fuad Hussein, today held a press conference to discuss recent security developments.

Foreign Minister Zebari stated that the most important development has been the decision by the United States to protect human lives – a critical decision for Kurdistan, Iraq, and the entire region. He said that the air strikes are intended to degrade the terrorists’ capabilities and achieve strategic gains, and have been very effective. He added that there is an American military team on the ground in Erbil in order to ensure tactical coordination with the Peshmerga forces. He noted that since the air strikes began, the environment has completely changed, and that Peshmerga are holding their ground and will be moving on the offensive.

Dr Fuad Hussein said that the terrorists are waging a war against humanity, and are not aligned with any religion. He mentioned that the Kurds used to say that they had no friends but the mountains, but this does not ring true anymore. Dr Hussein applauded the American decision to provide air strikes and humanitarian assistance, French support, and the efforts of the Pope to draw attention to the crisis. He discussed the plight of the Christian and Yezidi minorities as well, adding that the Kurdistan Region is proud of its culture of coexistence.

Both officials explained that America’s assistance is deeply appreciated. Foreign Minister Zebari lauded the unanimous United Nations Security Council call for urgent international action after France requested an emergency meeting. He said, “We are fighting on behalf of the whole world.” He urged the international community to not underestimate the terrorist group, whose tactics far exceed other terrorist organisations.

Foreign Minister Zebari noted that hundreds of thousands of Iraq’s displaced people, from every sect and ethnicity in Iraq, have taken refuge in Kurdistan. He also said that although the Peshmerga were previously denied weapons from Baghdad because of political issues, it is now clear that the Peshmerga and the Iraqi Security Forces are fighting together against a common enemy.

Salahaddin, Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRP.org) – Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani met leader of Gorran Movement Nosherwan Mustafa on Thursday, a statement by Chief of Staff of Kurdistan Region Presidency Fuad Hussein said.