KRSC Chancellor Masrour Barzani arrives in Washington to meet US officials

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The Chancellor of the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) on Thursday arrived in the United States to meet with American officials.

During the first stage of his visit, KRSC Chancellor Masrour Barzani met with US President Donald Trump’s National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster at the White House.

According to a readout published on the KRSC website after the meeting, “both officials reaffirmed the partnership between the United States and the Kurdistan Region,” and Barzani “welcomed McMaster’s support for a strong and united Kurdistan Region in line with Iraq’s Constitution.”

Chancellor Barzani also told McMaster the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) “expects the Iraqi government to take practical measures to build trust and advance broader dialogue.”

The two officials discussed the importance of addressing “conditions that led to the rise of” the Islamic State (IS) and “explored ways to strengthen the shared fight against the militants,” the KRSC readout said.

In a tweet following the meeting which she also attended, Bayan Sami Abdulrahman, the KRG Representative in the US, said Barzani and McMaster “had a good discussion on recent political, security, and economic developments and ways to strengthen Kurdistan-US partnership.”

.@KRSCPress Chancellor @masrour_barzani and @WHNSC NSA #HRMcMaster had a good discussion on recent political, security and economic developments and ways to strengthen Kurdistan-US partnership pic.twitter.com/sbZONPjbx9

— Bayan Sami Rahman (@BayanRahman) February 22, 2018

Chancellor Barzani is also expected to meet with senior US officials at both the White House and Congress to discuss relations between the Kurdistan Region and the US as well as the issues between Erbil and Baghdad.

Thursday’s trip to Washington is the KRSC leader’s first since Kurdistan held an independence referendum from Iraq last September.

In January, a Kurdistan Region delegation led by the KRG’s Interior Minister, Karim Sinjari, met with US officials to discuss ongoing issues between Erbil and Baghdad as well as strengthening American-Kurdish ties.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany