Kurdistan Region supports Iraq’s Kadhimi for stability: PM Barzani

The Kurdistan Region supports Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s steps toward stabilizing Iraq, Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said during his meeting with a top Italian defense delegation in Erbil on Tuesday.

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region supports Iraq’s Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s steps toward stabilizing Iraq, Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said during his meeting with a top Italian defense delegation in Erbil on Tuesday.

A top delegation from the Italian Defense Ministry, headed by Minister Lorenzo Guerini, arrived in the Kurdistan Region capital on Monday evening and was received by Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Minister of Peshmerga Shorish Ismael.

The bilateral relations between the Kurdistan Region and Italy, the Italian training of Peshmerga forces, and the latest security developments in Iraq were discussed between Prime Minister Barzani and the Italian delegation, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.

In the meeting, Barzani affirmed the region’s support to his Iraqi counterpart Kadhimi for stabilizing the country and resolving the outstanding issues between the regional and federal government on “the basis of the [Iraqi] constitution,” the statement noted.

In the meeting, which was also attended by KRG Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, the current bilateral relations between Italy and the Kurdistan Region and ways to develop them were discussed, the statement said.

Italy, as an active member of the global coalition against the so-called Islamic State, has provided the region’s Peshmerga forces with vital combat training and ammunition until the terror group’s territorial defeat in 2017.

Minister Guerini reaffirmed his country’s support to the Kurdistan Region and Peshmerga forces, the statement noted, as he hoped Italian military training is resumed soon, which has been halted by the coronavirus pandemic.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany