US officials pledge continued support for KRG in meeting with PM Barzani

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – High-level United States diplomats reiterated their country's strong support for the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in a meeting with its top official on Tuesday.

According to a statement released by his office, KRG Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani received an American delegation consisting of US Special Presidential Envoy for the Global Coalition against the Islamic State (IS) Brett McGurk, US Ambassador to Iraq Douglas Silliman, Consul General to Erbil Ken Gross, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Andrew Peek, and other US diplomats.

The delegation praised steps taken by the KRG toward meaningful dialogue with Iraq's federal government and stressed the importance its continuation to resolve remaining disagreements between the two.

The officials pledged that US support for the KRG is ongoing and will continue to develop, said the statement.

Relations between Erbil and Baghdad deteriorated dramatically after Kurdistan’s Sep. 25 independence referendum which saw an overwhelming majority vote in favor of future secession.

The recent de-escalation led the central government to reopen airports in the Kurdistan Region in March, shuttered under an international flight ban it had imposed on the region since shortly after the referendum was held. Portions of government worker's salaries, long delinquent, were also paid by Baghdad last month.

Prime Minister Barzani voiced his gratitude for the meeting and for the past support of the US in helping to facilitate the resumption of dialogue between the region and the federal government, stressing that serious and continued dialogue is the only way to address existing issues.

In the meeting, read the statement, the officials also discussed the upcoming Iraqi national election scheduled to be held on May 12 as well as the general situation in Iraq and the region.

Editing by John J. Catherine