Secretary Pompeo thanks PM Barzani for ‘steadfast partnership’
WASHINGTON DC (Kurdistan 24) - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo spoke with the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), Masrour Barzani, on Tuesday and “thanked him for his steadfast partnership,” as Pompeo tweeted after their discussion.
A pleasure to speak with Iraqi Kurdistan Region Prime Minister @masrour_barzani and to thank him for his steadfast partnership. We remain supportive of media freedom in Iraq and look forward to our continued close cooperation under the U.S.-Iraq Strategic Framework Agreement.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) December 22, 2020
For his part, Barzani explained that he had thanked Pompeo “for his personal support for the people of Kurdistan.”
A pleasure to talk to @SecPompeo today. We focused on continuous strengthening of KRG-US relations, the role the US can play in KRG-Baghdad talks, and regional issues.
— Masrour Barzani پابەندین# (@masrour_barzani) December 22, 2020
I took the opportunity to thank Secretary Pompeo for his personal support for the people of Kurdistan -mb.
Their discussion, as the Kurdish leader explained, had “focused on continuous strengthening of KRG-US relations, the role the US can play in KRG-Baghdad talks, and regional issues.”
Pompeo and Barzani developed particularly close ties in the first years of the Trump administration, when Pompeo headed the CIA and Barzani led the Kurdistan Region Security Council, as State Department Spokesperson, Morgan Ortagus earlier explained to Kurdistan 24.
Read More: ‘We work incredibly closely with the KRG;’ US State Department
Pompeo told Barzani on Tuesday that he “appreciated efforts by the Government of Iraq and the Kurdistan Regional Government to reach a budget deal and encouraged all sides to remain committed to an equitable outcome,” according to a State Department read-out of their conversation.
Read More: KRG, Baghdad reach deal on 2021 budget law: Deputy PM
The State Department press office, as of late Tuesday afternoon, had issued only one such read-out of a conversation between Pompeo and an Iraqi leader, so it would seem that Barzani was the first such official with whom Pompeo spoke, and, perhaps, the only one.
The two men also discussed “regional security challenges” and “de-escalation at the border,” according to the US summary, which did not identify the border they talked about. However, it likely refers to the border between Iraq and Syria.
Amberin Zaman of Al-Monitor reported later on Tuesday that in his discussion with Pompeo, Barzani had asked “the US-led coalition to deploy observers to patrol its border” with Syria, a request also made to the commander of Special Operations Joint Task-Force-Operation Inherent Resolve, Brig. Gen. Guillaume Beaurpere.
Read More: PM Barzani discussed security of Kurdistan, wider region with Commander of SOJTF-OIR
As Barzani’s Deputy Chief of Staff, Aziz Ahmad, explained to Zaman, such patrols would be a further way to restrict smuggling, as well as “discourage the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) from moving men and supplies from its bases in northern Iraq to Syrian Kurdistan” and “be ‘good for everyone.’”
“The US presence as ‘honest brokers,’” Ahmad told Zaman, “would hold the PKK-mentored and US-backed Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units accountable to ‘severing ties with the PKK.’”
In their phone discussion on Tuesday, Pompeo and Barzani stressed “the need for continued close cooperation between the Coalition, United States, Government of Iraq, and the Kurdistan Regional Government,” according to the State Department’s summary.
Senior figures in the incoming Biden administration, including President-elect Joe Biden, have also expressed their appreciation of the role played by the Kurds.
Read More: Biden presents national security team, as US presidential transition begins
Thus, it is likely that the close cooperation will continue beyond January 20, when the new administration takes office.
Editing by John J. Catherine