Masrour Barzani to discuss future of Kurdistan Region with Washington

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – The Chancellor of the Kurdistan Region Security Council is on an official visit in Washington DC to discuss the future of the Kurdistan Region with the current US administration and the administration of the President-elect Donald Trump.

Masrour Barzani told Kurdistan24 that “We are here [in Washington] to discuss the historical relations with the current administration and thank them for the assistance they provided for the Peshmerga forces and have a better understanding of the new administration.”

Regarding the Kurdistan Region relations with the administration of the President-elect Trump, Barzani added that, “We share our opinion with them and see what their opinion is.”

“Since they [President-elect Trump administration] are not officially in the administration yet, we cannot tell what their official policy towards the Middle East is,” Barzani told Kurdistan24.

The US administration has been supportive of the Peshmerga forces in the war against the Islamic State (IS), this support has been reiterated by the members of the team of the President-elect Trump.

The US Vice President-elect Mike Pence on Friday expressed the new Washington administration’s support for the Peshmerga and the Kurdistan Region during a phone call with the Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani.

According to the information obtained by Kurdistan24, Masrour Barzani is planning to participate and have several seminars and meetings in the think-tank centers in the US to share the Kurdistan Region’s perspective on several matters.

In the first stage of the visit, Barzani at the Center for American Progress discussed the Erbil-Baghdad talks with the center’s officials.

The US that leads the global coalition against IS has been supporting the Peshmerga forces with air-power, military and financial assistance to the Peshmerga forces in the war against IS extremists since mid-2014.

On July 12, 2016, the Kurdistan Region and the United States signed a memorandum of understanding to assist Peshmerga forces.

On December 8, Mr. Barzani will speak at Woodrow Wilson Centre about governance and security in post-Islamic State Iraq. You can RSVP. 

Editing by Ava Homa

(Rahim Rashidi conducted the interviews from Washington, DC)