Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani met with the commander of the United States Central Command General Lloyd Austin and the US Ambassador to Iraq Mr. Stuart Jones in Erbil today.

The President and the US general discussed the military campaign currently underway against the ISIS terrorists and the military support of the US to the peshmerga forces. President Barzani thanked the United States and other coalition countries for their military support for the peshmerga.

General Austin recognized the role of the peshmerga forces in the fight against the ISIS terrorists and reaffirmed continued US support for the peshmerga. In particular, he praised the military successes and gains made by the peshmerga forces in areas north of Mosul in recent days, attributing these victories to the able leadership and the personal involvement of President Barzani in supervising these operations.

Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani strongly condemned the brutal murder of Jordanian pilot Moaz al-Kasasbeh by ISIS terrorists.

In a message addressed to Jordan’s King Abdullah, President Barzani said, “O behalf of myself and the people of Kurdistan, I express my condolences to your Majesty, the people of Jordan, and the family of Moaz al-Kasasbeh.  I condemn, in the strongest terms, this inhumane act by ISIS terrorists.  These terrorists will pay for their crimes, and their fate is defeat and annihilation.”

Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani visited Munich, Germany, on Friday, to participate in the annual Munich Security Conference.

The President and an accompanying KRG delegation attended the opening ceremony of the Conference and held a number of bilateral meetings, including meeting Austrian Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz, and Croatian Foreign Minister Vesna Pusic, and former US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright. In these meetings, the President shed light on the ongoing efforts by the peshmerga forces to defeat ISIS terrorists and the humanitarian situation of refugees and IDPS who fled to Kurdistan.

On the sidelines of the Conference, the President also took part in a roundtable meeting attended by a number of US and European politicians and officials. In this meeting, President Barzani talked about the fighting against ISIS and the need for more support for the peshmerga forces. He also discussed the plight of hundreds of thousands of refugees and IDPs who have fled to Kurdistan in recent months and years.

Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al-Abadi met in Munich today. Following their meeting which was held on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, the two leaders spoke to the media. They both said that they had a positive meeting and that they both agreed to work more closely together.

On the second day of his participation at the Munich Security Conference, President Barzani held meetings with a number of world leaders and officials, including with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Federica Mogherini, Norway’s Foreign Minister Børge Brende, Germany’s Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen, Lebanese Prime Minister Tammam Salam, Armenia’s Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian.

Both German Chancellor Merkel and Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen commended the advances made by the peshmerga forces and reiterated that Germany would send further supplies to Kurdistan for the peshmerga.

The President also participated in a panel on the fight against ISIS terrorism and the situation of IDPS in Kurdistan. He thanked the international community for its support for the peshmerga forces but added that more military aid is needed.

Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani met with Us Vice President Joe Biden in Munich on Sunday.

They discussed the fight against ISIS terrorists and the progress of the efforts to defeat this terror group. Mr. Biden praised the bravery and sacrifices made by the peshmerga forces in this fight and pledged more US support to Kurdistan.  

President Barzani thanked the US Vice President personally and the US government their continued support for Kurdistan.

On the same day, the President also met some members of the US Senate Armed Services Committee, lead by John McCain, chairman of the committee, to discuss the fight against ISIS and the military requirements of the peshmerga forces.

Paris, France (KRP.org) – Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani met with French President François Hollande in Paris on Tuesday.

In their meeting at the Élysée Palace, President Hollande and President Barzani discussed the ongoing fight against ISIS terrorists and efforts to liberate the city of Mosul.

President Hollande welcomed President Barzani’s visit to Paris and reiterated his country’s support for the Kurdistan Region, in particular the peshmerga forces. He praised the role of the peshmerga in taking the fight to the ISIS terrorists. He said France would continue to provide military, humanitarian and political support to Kurdistan, and that it would also seek to gather support for Kurdistan among other European countries.

President Barzani thanked President Hollande for his continuous support and France’s aerial support for the peshmerga forces. He said President Hollande’s visit to Erbil in September was very important and showed that our people have great friends.

The two also discussed joint preparations underway by the peshmerga and the Iraqi army to liberate the city of Mosul from ISIS terrorists. They also discussed relations between Erbil and Baghdad and the recent meeting between President Barzani and Iraqi Prime Minister Abadi in Munich last week. The underlined the importance of close cooperation between Erbil and Baghdad to address the challenges facing Iraq.

President Barzani also met with French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Monday in Paris to discuss the fight against ISIS and the military needs of the peshmerga forces.

Tehran- IRNA News Agency- Nazem Dabbagh the representative of KRG said: as long as we are supported by Iran, we will not need America’s help. He added: the emergence of terrorist groups is the result of America policies in the region.

 He explained: if we take a look to dictator regimes, we will found most of them are brought by America. Stating the emergence of the current extremist groups in Iraq is the new policy of America he added: the aim of forming these groups in those countries is that they always need them.