Tillerson phones Barzani, asks Abadi to accept KRG’s initiative

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – The US Secretary of State had a lengthy phone call with the Kurdistan Region President on Thursday to assist Baghdad and Erbil in resolving the issues.

Rex Tillerson, the US Secretary of State, in an interview expressed Washington's readiness to assist Erbil and Baghdad resolve their issues through peaceful and political means.

“Subsequent to my meeting with Prime Minister Abadi, I had a very lengthy telephone call with Kurdistan President Barzani,” Tillerson said.

The Secretary of State added that “the US stands ready to assist Baghdad and Erbil to chart a positive course forward in support of a unified, federal, and democratic Iraq through peaceful, political means.”

He also called upon Erbil and Baghdad to avoid all conflict, encouraging the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to accept Erbil’s overtures for dialogue on the basis of the Iraqi constitution.

On Wednesday, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) offered to freeze the results of the independence referendum and called for all military operations to cease for an open dialogue with Baghdad to begin.

However, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Thursday rejected the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) offer.

“We will accept nothing but the cancellation of the referendum and adherence to the [Iraqi] Constitution,” Abadi said while on an official visit to Tehran.

The KRG had urged that grave and dangerous circumstances facing Iraq and Kurdistan required all sides to “act responsibly in order to prevent further violence and clashes between Iraqi and Peshmerga forces.”

Following Abadi’s meeting with Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei on Thursday, however, the latter expressed his support for the Prime Minister’s efforts to maintain the integrity of Iraq.

Khamenei praised the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), an Iranian-backed Shia militia, for their involvement in the fight against “terrorists and their supporters,” calling them the “secret” for Iraq’s recent victories.

Accusing the US of having created the Islamic State (IS) as a means to “destroy” the Iraqi people and government, Khamenei warned Abadi “never to trust Americans” as they will “hit Iraq again when they have the opportunity.”

The KRG’s call to cease military operations against the Region and offer to freeze the results of the referendum were widely welcomed by anti-IS coalition partners, namely the US.

While the State Department indicated its support for the proposal, US House of Representatives Speaker Paul Ryan called on the Federal Government of Iraq to accept the initiative to de-escalate tensions.

The Kurdish leadership and many US officials have criticized Iran’s role in the attack, with some accusing Soleimani, of orchestrating the Hashd al-Shaabi and Iraqi forces’ ongoing military incursions on the Kurdistan Region, an accusation the Iranian officials deny.

Editing by Sam A.