New US Ambassador to Iraq visits Erbil; bilateral ties, business lead discussions with senior Kurdistan leaders

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The new US Ambassador to Iraq, Matthew Tueller, paid his first visit to the Kurdistan Region capital of Erbil on Saturday. He was welcomed there by senior Kurdish leaders, who congratulated him on his new position.

In a meeting with Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) President Masoud Barzani, the US Ambassador “expressed his appreciation” for the Kurdish leader’s role “in stabilizing and resolving problems and strengthening relations” between the Kurdistan Region and the US, a statement on Barzani’s website read.

The US Ambassador also highlighted Barzani’s efforts in improving ties between the autonomous Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Federal Government of Iraq following a fallout in the aftermath of Kurdistan’s historic independence referendum in 2017, the statement added.

The US “considers the improvement of relations between Erbil and Baghdad as being in the interests of both sides and for the stability of Iraq and the wider region,” the American official said, according to Barzani’s office.

For his part, the KDP leader congratulated Tueller on his new duties and wished him success in his role as US Ambassador to Iraq.

In a separate meeting with Kurdistan Region Prime Minister-designate Masrour Barzani – who also serves as the Chancellor of the Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) – Tueller agreed “to promote more American investment and business-to-business ties” in the Kurdistan Region, once the new KRG cabinet takes office, Masrour Barzani wrote on Twitter.

On Wednesday, the newly-elected President of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, issued a formal letter calling on Masrour Barzani to form the new KRG cabinet, for which he would have 30 days to complete.

The decree was issued a day after the Kurdistan Parliament named Masrour Barzani to the post of Prime Minister with 87 votes out of 97 lawmakers in attendance.

Before replacing Douglas Silliman as US Ambassador to Iraq, Tueller served as America’s Ambassador to Kuwait and, most recently, to Yemen, where he was involved in negotiations between the Iranian-backed Houthi forces and the internationally recognized Yemeni government, which is backed by a Saudi-led coalition.

Tueller assumed his new duties in Baghdad on June 9, when he formally presented his credentials to the Iraqi government.

Editing by Laurie Mylroie