KRG concessions enough, Baghdad’s ‘strict’ conditions unjustifiable: Barzani

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Imposing the status quo by force is simply unacceptable, and the current situation in the province of Kirkuk will not last according to former President of the Kurdistan Region, Masoud Barzani.

Barzani met with Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) officials from Sulaimani, Halabja, and Raparin in Erbil on Monday to discuss the state of the Kurdistan Region and the disputed territories since the Sep. 25 referendum.

He asserted that the people of the Kurdistan Region had not been defeated in the Oct. 16 attack by Iraqi Forces and the Iranian-backed Shia Hashd al-Shaabi militia in Kirkuk province, but rather betrayed.

“The circumstances that were imposed on us following this act of treason are temporary. The will of our people will ultimately succeed,” Barzani said.

He pointed out that ahead of the referendum Baghdad wanted to “abolish the achievements of the people in the Kurdistan Region” and send them back to the same line of contact between the Peshmerga and [former] Baath regime [in 2003]. been succeeded.”

“Even if the referendum hadn’t been held, the plan was already in place, including an attack on Kirkuk. Had we not been betrayed on Oct. 16, however, their plans to attack the Kurdistan Region and its regions wouldn’t have succeeded.”

Barzani was confident that the treason and the use of force would nevertheless fail to change the identity of Kirkuk and other Kurdistani areas outside of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) administration, adding that the current situation was “temporary.”

He emphasized that Kirkuk should be a model of peaceful coexistence between different ethnic and religious groups, and affirmed that imposing the status quo by force was “unacceptable.”

The Kurdish leader reiterated his support for dialogue between Erbil and Baghdad to address their differences.

“If Baghdad really wants to resolve the current disputes, they should acknowledge that the KRG has conceded more than enough for a dialogue to begin, leaving no room for Baghdad to justify its strict conditions.”

Ties between Erbil and Baghdad have considerably deteriorated since the Kurdistan Region’s independence vote. As a show of good faith, the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) offered to freeze the results of the referendum, which Baghdad refused, demanding a full annulment instead.

Barzani was the leading Kurdish figure who championed the referendum which saw 93 percent of voters in favor of secession.

Editing by Nadia Riva