Pompeo calls on Iraqi Prime Minister-Designate to work with Kurds, Sunnis

Pompeo “urged the new Prime Minister to resolve differences with Iraq’s Kurdish and Sunni political leaders to assure success in pursuing the vital tasks faced by his government.”

WASHINGTON DC (Kurdistan 24) – In a telephone conversation with Iraqi Prime Minister-designate Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on him to work in cooperation with Iraq’s Kurds and Sunnis.

Pompeo “urged the new Prime Minister to resolve differences with Iraq’s Kurdish and Sunni political leaders to assure success in pursuing the vital tasks faced by his government,” according to a statement from State Department spokesperson, Morgan Ortagus, which was released on Sunday.

Their discussion marked the first conversation between the two men. Pompeo, as well as the US Secretaries of Defense and Energy, met with the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Masrour Barzani, earlier this month at the Munich Security Conference. However, no meetings were held between US and Iraqi officials. Allawi did not even attend, perhaps, because he has yet to be confirmed by Iraq’s parliament.

Read More: PM Barzani meets US Secretaries of State, Energy in Munich

John Hannah, formerly National Security Adviser to Vice-President Dick Cheney and currently a senior counselor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, recently described Allawi as “an Islamist-leaning Shia,” whose candidacy was “born of a backroom deal brokered by an Iranian axis” among Iraqi politicians, while his nomination was “finalized in Qom,” by Iran’s political-religious leadership.

Indeed, a delegation from the Kurdistan Region visited Baghdad last week to discuss the new government with Allawi. But their meetings were unsatisfactory, and they cut short their trip complaining, “The attitude of Mohammed Allawi toward the Kurdistan Region delegation was not sufficiently appropriate,” and he “has not shown any respect for the political and legal standing of the Kurdistan Region.”

Read More: Kurds leave talks with Iraqi PM nominee, blame his ‘attitude’ toward Kurdistan

Pompeo also welcomed Allawi’s “promise to hold early elections to strengthen Iraq’s democratic system,” while the two men discussed the urgent need to end “the killing of protestors, seek justice for those killed and wounded, and address their legitimate grievances.”

The Iraqi protests, which began in October, led to the resignation of Adil Abdul Mahdi as prime minister in late November. On Feb. 1, Iraqi President Barham Salih designated Allawi as his replacement. Allawi has until Mar. 1 to gain parliamentary approval for his new cabinet.

Pompeo also stressed to Allawi the need for the Iraqi government to protect US personnel and facilities, as well as those of the US-led Coalition, which is deployed to Iraq to fight the so-called Islamic State.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany