President Masoud Barzani met with the visiting Norwegian Foreign Minister Børge Brendein Erbil on Tuesday. The President and the the Norwegian Foreign Minister discussed the fight against ISIS terrorists, the humanitarian plight of hundreds of thousands of Iraqi IDPs, and government formation process in Baghdad.

President Barzani thanked the Norwegian Foreign Minister for his visit and said that this visit demonstrates Norway’s solidarity and support for the Kurdistan Region. Address the plight of hundreds of thousands of IDPs is beyond the capacity of the KRG and there is a dire need for international support and cooperation, said the President.

Foreign Minister Brende said he is visiting to show his country’s solidarity and support to the people of Kurdistan in their struggle against terrorism, adding that the KRG can depend on Norway for both humanitarian and military support. He further added that his country has already provided 25 million US dollars for the humanitarian crisis and it intends to provide an additional 10 million.

Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani met with a senior UK government delegation to discuss the humanitarian crisis facing the Kurdistan Region and the threat of ISIS terrorism.

Secretary of State for International Development Justine Greening, and the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Tobias Ellwood, expressed UK government’s support and solidarity with the people and government of the KRG, and added that their government would continue to support the KRG in dealing with the humanitarian crisis facing the Region and also militarily in confronting the ISIS terrorists.

Secretary of State for International Development Justine Greening praised the generosity of the people and government of KRG for sheltering and helping large numbers of Iraqi IDPs and Syrian refuges who have sought refuge in Kurdistan. She said that the UK government has committed to provide 23 million British pounds in aid for these IDPs and refugees.

The UK ministers also hailed the progress and development that has been achieved by the KRG over the past ten years, and describing this as a shining example in Iraq, they added the UK government would continue to support this development and progress.

For his part, President Barzani expressed his gratitude for this visit and show of solidarity from the UK government. He stated that the KRG needs international assistance to look after some 1.2 million IDPs and refugees in Kurdistan. The KRG also needs military assistance to confront the ISIS terrorists, added the President.

President Barzani and the UK ministers also discussed the government formation prospects in Baghdad and both sides stressed that meaningful change is required if the many challenges facing the country are to be addressed. The President said the Kurds are seriously working with other sides to form a genuinely inclusive government in Baghdad as soon as possible.

United States Vice President Joe Biden spoke with the Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani on Sunday to discuss security and political challenges facing Iraq.

The US Vice President praised the recent successes of the peshmerga forces against the ISIS terrorists and reiterated US government support for them. On the political process in Baghdad, he expressed his government’s hope that a new government can be formed on sound basis and one which can revive trust and can address all the challenges facing the country.

Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani met with a German parliamentary delegation today to discuss bilateral relations as well as political and security developments in Iraq.

Chairman of the German parliament’s CDU/CSU parliamentary group, Volker Kauder, and Deputy Chairman of the group Andreas Schockenhoff, relayed the greetings of German Chancellor Angela Merkel to President Barzani and expressed their country’s strong support for the KRG in its war against the ISIS terrorists.

They said Germany would support the KRG, both on the humanitarian front in dealing with the hundreds of thousands o IDPs, and on the military front by proving military equipment to the peshmerga forces. The German parliamentarians praised the KRG and its leadership for providing a safe refuge of Yezidis, Christians, and other minorities fleeing from ISIS and seeking refuge in Kurdistan.

For his part, President Barzani stated that the KRG is proud to fight the ISIS terrorists on behalf of the free world, adding that with international support, the peshmerga forces soon defeat the terrorists. The President also expressed his appreciation for Germany for its support and solidarity with the people of Kurdistan.

Italy’s Prime Minister Matteo Renzi arrived in Erbil today and met with President Masoud Barzani and Prime Minster Nechirvan Barzani in Erbil today. He also visited a refugee camp near Erbil which is home to a large number of IDPs from Ninawa province.

In his meeting with the KRG leadership, Prime Minister Renzi expressed his country’s support for the KRG in its fight against ISIS terrorism and stated that Italy would provide both humanitarian and military aid to the KRG. He added that there is a consensus in the EU that both humanitarian and military aid must be provided for the KRG. On the fight against terrorism, Prime Minister Renzi said that Italy stands by the KRG in this fight, as ISIS is a threat to Italy and not just to Kurdistan.

President Barzani expressed his gratitude to the people and government of Italy for their show of solidary and offer of support and said that this public support gives the people of Kurdistan more hope and strength in the face of terrorism.

In their meeting, they also discussed the plight of the hundreds of thousands of IDPs and refugees who have sought refuge in Kurdistan. President Barzani said that the KRG would spare no efforts to tend to the needs of the IDPs. He added that Kurdistan is proud to be a place where people of different religious and ethnic backgrounds live side by side in peace and that the KRG would do whatever it takes to protect this tradition.

With the presence of Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) representative in Tehran and after reading the condolatory message by the president of Kurdistan Region, the celebrity of the singer Abbas Kamandi was held in Tehran.

With the presence of Dr. Jegarkhowein (Mohammad Seddigh Ahmad) the deputy-representative of KRG in Tehran and several political, cultural and art personifications of Kurdistan and Iran the 3^rd day ceremony of the Kurdish singer Abbas Kamandi was held in Abulfazl Mosque in Tehran at 6:30 on Monday on Khordad 12^th (June 2^nd , 2014).

Dr. Jegarkhowein the deputy-representative of KRG read Mr. Masoud Barzani’s condolatory message in the occasion of Abbas Kamandi’s death. A part of the message says: as soon as hearing the news of the famous artist’s death Abbas Kamandi I got concerned. He gave precious services in the fields of singing arts, sign, painting, poem and play-writing for many years; so that his affectivity in these fields is sensible and appreciated.

The message continues: the loss of the artist is a great injury to Kurdish art, I offer my condolence to his family and the artists of Kurdistan I too share this tragic grief. I demand the Great God to grant his grace to this deceased and calmness to everyone. In addition Ezzatullah Zarghami’s condolatory message, the head of Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting Organization, was read.

Furthermore personifications like As’ad Ardalan, As’ad Khoshgovari Kurdish program master and Behruz Tavakkoli the Kurdish singer, Dr. Ghotbeddin Sadeghi the play-writer and the instructor of the University of Tehran, Jalal Jalalizade the instructor of the University of Tehran and ex-representative of Sanandaj in Islamic Council Parliament gave speeches concerning Abbas Kamandi personality aspects.

Additionally the condolatory message of Kurds Society residing in the center, Culture Institute of Kurdistan in Tehran, the artists of Culture and Art Institute of Zagros Simagostar, the artists Kurdish part of Sahar Universal Network, the masters and staffs of Kurdish radio in Tehran, the artists and staffs of Mahabad and Sanandaj Television and Radio, the Society of Kurdish lawyers residing in the center, the Society of Uramani Kurds residing in Tehran, Wrestling Broad of Kurdistan, the artists of different towns of Kurdistan, the Society of Kermanshah’s people in Tehran, Engineer Seyyed Ehsan Alawi the representative of Islamic Council Parliament, the Society of Azeri and Lor, Mahabad Magazine and several other centers and institutions.   

Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani today met with Sweden’s Foreign Minister Carl Bidt and EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, Kristalina Georgieva.

In a meeting in his office in Salahaddin, President Barzani called for more humanitarian aid from the international community, saying that hosting and providing for the basic needs of more than 1.5 million IDPs and Syrian refugees in Kurdistan is beyond the capacity of the KRG. The President thanked political and humanitarian support from EU countries but added that much more needs to be done.

President Barzani also said that the visits by European officials and their public messages of support gives the people and government of Kurdistan hope and confidence to stand firm against ISIS terrorism and in providing aid and shelter for the IDPs.

Swedish Foreign Minister Bildt expressed his country’s full support for the KRG in its fight against the ISIS and said that all EU countries are intent to help the KRG in dealing with the large number of IDPs and that they have also agreed on a long-term strategy to confront the ISIS threat. He said that ISIS is a threat to the whole world.

EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response, Kristalina Georgieva also praised the KRG for its generosity towards the IDPs and refugees and said that the EU would continue to provide humanitarian in Kurdistan for as long as it is necessary.

President Barzani agreed with Foreign Minister Bildt that forming a truly inclusive, representative government in Baghdad would constitute a major step forward to defeating the ISIS threat, but added that this is the last chance. He attributed the current dire state of affairs to the wrong policies of outgoing Prime Minister Noori Maliki. 

Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani welcomed Germany’s Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier in Erbil on Saturday. In a press conference following their meeting, Mr. Steinmeier expressed Germany’s support for the KRG in its fight against terrorism and commended the KRG for hosting large numbers of IDPs from Mosul who have sought refuge in Kurdistan. He added that Germany would continue to provide humanitarian aid to the IDPs, reiterating that his country would do whatever it can to help the KRG cope with the refugees.

President Barzani hailed Mr. Steinmeier visit to Kurdistan and described it as tremendous support for the people of Kurdistan. He added that the atrocities committed against the Yezidis and Christian minorities in the Ninawa province, were crimes committed against all the people of Kurdistan and that the KRG would come out of this victorious.