Carter arrives in Kurdistan, extends military support to Peshmerga

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – On Sunday morning, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter arrived in Erbil and expressed Washington’s continuous support to Peshmerga in a meeting with Kurdish officials.

In a joint conference, the President of the Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani and Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani met the US delegation headed by the US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter.

The US delegation consisted of the US Special Presidential Envoy Brett McGurk, US Ambassador to Iraq Douglas Silliman, US Consul General in Erbil Ken Gross, and other military and diplomat delegates.

In the meeting, Carter congratulated President Barzani for the recent victories of Peshmerga in pushing back the Islamic State (IS) around Mosul.

He also praised the cooperation between Peshmerga and Iraqi security forces in the offensive, according to the Kurdistan Region Presidency (KRP) statement.

Moreover, Carter stated the US would extend its military support to the Peshmerga forces.

President Barzani urged the need for a plan and a political agreement on the future of Mosul after the city gets liberated from the jihadist group.

The President added the plan should guarantee the prevention of emerging issues which he believed would also assure the protection of ethnic and religious groups in the area.

During the meeting, both sides discussed the latest military development in northern Iraq, military needs, and Peshmerga victories in north and northeast of Mosul.

They also talked about the current political situation in the region and the latest developments in Syria as well as post-IS discussions.

Carter’s visit to Erbil comes after his arrival in Baghdad on Saturday.

He met with the Prime Minister of Iraq Haider al-Abadi and discussed the current situation in the country, expressing the military support of Washington in the fight against IS.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany