US Ambassador Congratulates Kurdish Leadership on ‘Successful IKR Election’
The ambassador congratulated the Kurdish leadership on the successful elections, while they discussed the resumption of Kurdish oil exports and the need to keep Iraq out of the Iranian-Israeli conflict.
WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan 24) The U.S. ambassador to Iraq, Alina Romanowski, met with Masrour Barzani, Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), and Nechirvan Barzani, President of the Kurdistan Region, on Tuesday.
Romanowski was in Erbil to address the 2024 session of the MERI (Middle East Research Institute) forum. In her remarks to the group, she expressed high praise for the Kurdistan Region.
“The Kurdistan Region serves as both a significant source of U.S. trade and investment across Iraq and a model of democracy that could be replicated throughout the country,” she said.
Read More: “Kurdistan Region a model of democracy,” US Ambassador stated
The very positive view of the Kurdistan Region is not unique to Romanowski. Rather, in her comments to the MERI Forum, she echoed earlier remarks by other U.S. officials.
Earlier Praise for the Kurdistan Region
Those officials include Lt. Gen. Jay Garner, who led Operation Provide Comfort in 1991 and then led the first U.S. reconstruction effort following the 2003 ouster of Saddam Hussein.
As Garner told Kurdistan 24, “If you look at what [the Kurdistan Region] is today and what it was 30 years ago, and it's impossible, you think, for them to come this far.”
“I think in world history, if you go and review the oral history,” he continued, “you will never find that great a leap, from where you were in ‘91 to where you are today.”
Read More: US Lt. Gen. Jay Garner, who led Operation Provide Comfort, calls for unity among Kurdish parties
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (Democrat, Illinois) served as a Blackhawk helicopter pilot in the 2003 war. She was seriously injured, when her helicopter was shot down near Taji.
A woman of indomitable spirit, she then went into politics, twice winning election to the House of Representatives, before becoming a senator in 2017.
In 2019, Duckworth returned to Iraq as head of a Senate fact-finding delegation. It was her first visit to the country since the 2003 war.
Duckworth was enormously impressed by the developments in the Kurdistan Region in the intervening years. “I think what the Kurds have been able to do,” she said, “sets an example” for the rest of Iraq.
Read More: Sen. Duckworth: Kurdistan is model for Iraq; ISIS not defeated
Similarly, Joey Hood, who served as charge d’affaires at the US embassy in Baghdad before becoming Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, told Kurdistan 24 in 2020, “The Kurdistan Region could serve as a model for the rest of Iraq.”
Read More: US: Kurdistan Region can be model for rest of Iraq
Romanowski’s Meetings in Baghdad—include Restarting Kurdish Oil Exports and Keeping Iraq out of Iranian-Israeli Conflict
“I met with President Nechirvan Barzani and PM Masrour Barzani to congratulate them on the successful IKR election,” Romanowski tweeted on Tuesday.
“We commend the people of the IKR for their commitment to democracy,” she continued, and “I encourage all political parties to form a government without delay.”
I met with President Nechirvan Barzani and PM Masrour Barzani to congratulate them on the successful IKR election. I encourage all political parties to form a government without delay. We commend the people of the IKR for their commitment to democracy.
— Ambassador Alina L. Romanowski (@USAmbIraq) October 29, 2024
The read-out of his meeting with the U.S. ambassador from the Prime Minister’s office explained, “Ambassador Romanowski congratulated Prime Minister Barzani on the success of the election and highlighted the orderly and peaceful manner in which it was conducted, with a high turnout of voters.”
They agreed “on the importance of starting the procedures for the formation of a new cabinet,” it continued.
Significantly, it concluded with the issue of Kurdish oil exports, stating that the two had “discussed efforts to restart Kurdistan Region oil exports and resolve the obstacles.”
Romanowski’s meeting with Nechirvan Barzani was similar, according to a read-out from his office. In addition to her congratulations on the successful elections, their discussion “also focused on the relationship between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Federal Government of Iraq.”
“Both parties expressed appreciation for the ongoing dialogue” to develop a “mutual understanding” between Erbil and Baghdad, as “resolving the issues” that divide them “would enhance the overall stability of the country.”
They also discussed the high tensions in the region that have generated a “precarious situation in the Middle East,” while “they reiterated the importance of Iraq remaining detached from regional conflicts.”
Indeed, it does seem that Iran and its proxies seek to drag Iraq into the conflict with Israel, and there appears to be a real danger that they could succeed.
Read More: US: We Weren’t Involved in Israeli Attack on Iran; We Don’t Control Iraqi Airspace
Thus, one would hope that the U.S., and its European partners, are making every effort that they can to prevent Iraq from being dragged into that war.
