US in frequent contact with Barzani on IS war: Spokesperson

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The spokesperson for the US State Department Mark Toner on Friday said the Washington administration is in close contact with the President of the Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani regarding the Islamic State (IS) war.

“I don’t want to get ahead of the immediate challenge, which is Mosul. But I think in general we’re…in frequent contact with President Barzani,” Toner said in response to Kurdistan24 correspondent Laurie Mylroie during a daily briefing in Washington, DC.

“[We discuss] not only the efforts to defeat and destroy and degrade [IS] but also the response to the humanitarian needs, and also the IDP, the internally displaced people,” he continued.

Mylroie asked whether the US would consider the participation of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) delegation in future meetings related to the IS war, including Kurdistan’s humanitarian assistance concerns.

Recently, the UK Minister for the Middle East Tobias Ellwood held a meeting in London with an Iraqi delegation including the Foreign Minister of Iraq Ibrahim al-Jaafari and the head of the KRG Department of Foreign Relations Falah Mustafa.

The group discussed further collaboration between the two countries on security issues and investment projects.

“We were delighted to participate with the delegation of Iraq in the joint committee meeting between the UK and Iraq,” Mustafa told reporters following the meeting.

According to Mustafa, the main topics discussed during the meeting were investment and trade between UK, Iraq, and the Kurdistan Region, as well as security assistance and the Mosul battle.

Kurdistan shares over 1,000 kilometers (620 miles) of its border with the jihadist group in the north of Iraq.

Peshmerga forces are one of the most efficient ground troops defeating IS, liberating large swaths of territory in northern Iraq.

Kurdish officials have often expressed concerns for not being invited to top meetings related to the IS war while they are on the forefront “fighting on behalf of the entire world.”

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany