President Barzani discusses foreign intervention in Iraq

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (K24) – On Monday, President of the Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani discussed the intervention of foreign countries in Iraq with an influential Iraqi political figure.

Barzani met the head of the Iraqi Islamic Party and former Parliament Speaker of Iraq Ayad al-Samarrai and his accompanied delegation in Erbil. In the meeting, both discussed external interventions and its impact on different parts of Iraq, according to the Kurdistan Region Presidency Office.

Samarrai was elected as the Secretary-General of the party in 1995 while in exile in the UK. Three years after his appointment to the US-backed opposition before the Iraq war in 2003, he was chosen as a second Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Review Committee to make amendments to the Iraqi Constitution. In 2009, he was elected Parliamentary Speaker.

During the meeting, both sides highlighted the current situation and emphasized the need for finding solutions for security, economic and political issues in the country.  Barzani mentioned that Erbil and Baghdad should increase cooperation in the fight against Islamic State (IS).

Additionally, they discussed the threats facing minorities in the country and the importance of promoting co-existence between ethnic and religious groups in Nineveh and Kirkuk Provinces in the post-Mosul liberation.

Recently, Iraqi Defense Minister of Iraq, Khaled al-Obeidi stated that the Mosul operation will happen in the first part of 2016 and “the Operation will end IS in Iraq.”

Reporting by Mewan Dolamari
Editing by Benjamin Kweskin and Karzan Sulaivany