KRSC Chancellor: there should be agreement for post-IS in Mosul

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (K24) - Kurdistan Region Security Council (KRSC) Chancellor Masrour Barzani met Iraqi Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi and Iraqi Air Force Commander, Staff Lieutenant General Anwar Hamad Amin on Saturday afternoon in Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region.

In the meeting, they discussed the current security situation in the region and explored ways of improving the military cooperation between Kurdistan Region and Iraqi federal government.

The liberation of Mosul city in northern Iraq was another subject of the meeting. Al-Obeidi praised the liberation of Kurdish Yazidi town of Sinjar in northern Iraq by the Peshmerga forces as a "big success". He mentioned that the liberation of Sinjar will have a big impact on freeing Mosul from Islamic State (IS) militants.

Besides praising Peshmerga's bravery, Al-Obeidi stated that the military support of Baghdad to Peshmerga is insufficient. He hoped that the political barriers for aiding Peshmerga would be removed soon by improving Erbil-Baghdad relations.

Barzani stressed that Kurdistan Region will solely deal with the official and constitutional forces because those forces will not trigger sectarian violence in the country.

In regards to the participation of Peshmerga in Mosul liberation, he explained that Peshmerga is an "effective ground force in fighting against terrorists [IS insurgents]". Thus, he noted that Peshmerga will assist other forces in the military operations for eradicating jihadists in any region if it is needed.

Barzani also noted that the situation after Mosul liberation is vital. He said that an agreement should be signed by Erbil and Baghdad where Peshmerga forces would station in Mosul. Also, ways to make an administration and military balance in Nineveh Province, in a way that will guarantee that the previous mistakes made against the different components of the province [such as ethnic tensions] will not be repeated in the area.

The relation between Erbil and Baghdad has not been well since the beginning of 2014 when the former Iraqi government blocked the constitutional budget share of Kurdistan, accusing the region of selling oil independently without referring to the federal government of Iraq.

The military cooperation between both sides is also not well as the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) often criticize the federal government for not arming Kurdish Peshmerga forces sufficiently in the fight against IS insurgents.