Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani met with US Ambassador to Iraq Stuart Jones in Salahaddin today. The meeting focused on a discussion of the latest political and security developments in the country and the fight against the ISIS terrorists. 

The US Ambassador reiterated the United States commitment to continue to support the peshmerga forces in the fight against terror.

They also discussed relations between Erbil and Baghdad and the situation of IDPs who have sought refuge in Kurdistan.

Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq (cabinet.gov.krd) - Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister, Nechirvan Barzani, yesterday received the Defence Senior Advisor Middle East in the UK Ministry of Defence, Lieutenant General Tom Beckett, and his accompanying delegation.

General Beckett discussed the latest security developments in the region in general and in the Kurdistan Region in particular. He also discussed continuing and increasing trainings for Peshmerga forces by the UK military.

He commended the Peshmerga forces who courageously confront the Islamic State terrorist organization, ISIS. He lauded the protection they provide to all people in the Kurdistan Region regardless of their ethnic and religious backgrounds.

He informed the Prime Minister that the Peshmerga forces are successful in the training programmes and they satisfactorily fulfilled their tasks.

General Beckett also discussed the situation in the areas under the control of ISIS.  He stressed the need for cooperation and coordination among all forces, including Iraqi and Kurdistan forces, in order to defeat the terrorists.

Prime Minister Barzani thanked the UK government for supporting and assisting the Kurdistan Region since the terrorist threat emerged. He expressed his wish that training programmes for the Peshmerga forces continue and increase.

He hoped that the ongoing satisfactory coordination and cooperation between coalition forces and the Kurdistan Region would continue and expand, which are vital to eliminate terrorist threats. 

Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani arrived in Kuwait City on Saturday on an official visit to hold meetings with the Emir of Kuwait and other senior Kuwaiti officials. 

On his arrival, the President and an accompanying senior KRG delegation were welcomed at Kuwait City airport by Sheikh Sabah Al-Khalid Al-Sabah, the First Deputy Prime Minister and the Foreign Minister of Kuwait. 

President Barzani is due to also visit Abu Dhabi in this Gulf visit to meet with the leadership of the UAE. In both countries, the President will discuss bilateral relations, the threat of ISIS terrorists,and the plight of Iraqi IDPs who have sought refuge in Kurdistan.

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.

Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani met with the Emir of Kuwait, Sheikh Sabah Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, and other senior leaders of the State of Kuwait on Sunday to discuss bilateral relations and the political and security developments in the region.

The meeting between the President and Kuwait’s Prime Minister Jaber Al-Mubarak Al-Hamad Al-Sabah focused on strengthening political and economic relations between the Kurdistan Region and Kuwait, including encouraging investment by Kuwaiti businesses in Kurdistan. 

Kuwait’s Crown Prince Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah hosted a luncheon for President Barzani and his accompanying delegation. 

The President also visited Iraq’s embassy in Kuwait City where he was welcomed by Ambassador Mohamad Hussein Bahr Al-Ulom. 

Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani met with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan ,Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commander of the UAE Armed Forces, in Abu Dhabi on Monday. 

The President and the Crown Prince discussed the political and security situation in Iraq and in the region, especially the threat from ISIS terrorists. President Barzani expressed his hope that the UAE and its companies can further contribute to the development of the Kurdistan Region. 

They also discussed the plight of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi IDPs who have sought refuge in Kurdistan.

Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq (cabinet.gov.krd) - Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani yesterday received the Egyptian Ambassador to Iraq, Mr. Ahmad Hassan Darwish, and his accompanying delegation.

Ambassador Darwish highlighted historical relations between Kurdistan and the Egyptian people, hoping to expand those relations particularly in the economic fields of trade and investment. He pointed out that Egyptian investors are keen to boost investment in Iraq in general and in the Kurdistan Region in particular.

He praised the determination of Peshmerga forces in their fight against the Islamic State terrorist organization, ISIS. He also commended the Kurdistan Regional Government, KRG, and the people of Kurdistan for accommodating and offering assistance to over 1.7 million refugees and internally displaced people, IDPs, who fled ISIS repression and took refuge in the Kurdistan Region.

Regarding relations between the KRG and the Iraq Federal Government, Mr. Darwish expressed his wishes for the settlement of differences through dialog on the basis of the federal Constitution.

Prime Minister Barzani reiterated the historic relations between the two nations, expressing the KRG’s readiness to develop and strengthen bilateral relations and provide assistance to Egyptian investors.  He highlighted continuing victories by Peshmerga forces in the war against ISIS and mentioned the anticipated military operation to liberate Mosul.

On relations with Baghdad, he emphasized that the Iraq Constitution must be implemented fully, and expressed the Kurdistan Region’s desire to settle issues with Baghdad through negotiations.

Regarding the issue of displaced people, Prime Minister Barzani affirmed that his government and the people of the Kurdistan Region will continue to do their best to assist and accommodate refugees and internally displeased people.

When Saddam ruling Iraq Ba’athists were on power. There were thoughts of Ba’ath party growing and in Syria also Salafist and Takfirist got united as a special organization; those thoughts of Ba’ath dominated this unity and caused a singularity between terrorists and Syria and called themselves “Islamic State of Iraq and Sham”, namely, ISIS. The representative of Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq, describing the reasons and roots of the formation of ISIS terrorists group, considered the coalition against terrorists as a pretext to reenter Iraq. He believes that the USA has experienced three strategies to enter Iraq: the first experience was Persian Gulf War against Saddam, the second was getting out the Nuri Al-Maliki from Iraq and the third was to attack ISIS.

Nazem Omar Dabbagh the representative of KRG of Iraq in Iran in talk with ILNA News Agency reporter, about the hidden goals of ISIS to appear said: ISIS is not something to emerge suddenly but there were factors to support ISIS and there was an atmosphere in which it could grow. In Syria and Iraq this appropriate atmosphere was prepared. Emphasizing that in the history such concerns are obviously mentioned he added as Justice and Development party coming to power in Turkey, it has formed especial closeness between this country with Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Relating bombing ISIS positions by America he said ILNA: it is benefit to America to use air raid rather than disembarking his forces to reduce expenditures since in his view. America public reflections cannot accept their soldiers to be killed in Iraq.

Dabbagh shortened Turkey’s policy change in two cases. The first is to take advantage by letting medicines and altruism aids pass from his country and the second was that through being a member of NATO and accepting some commitments and being asked by the members to make his role against ISIS clear he had to change his policy. In addition he believes that some countries allied with America in fight against ISIS also support this group have vague role. Stating that the coalition and allying to uproot ISIS in the region have to be serious Dabbagh said: to vanish ISIS in the region this group must be destroyed to the core like to cut the financial and human resources and stop supporting it.