MPs, Lords request UK PM to help end conflict between Erbil, Baghdad
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – A number of Members of Parliament and Lords in the UK on Thursday sent a letter to British Prime Minister Theresa May, asking the government to encourage dialogue and put an end to the conflict between Erbil and Baghdad.
The letter was signed by MP Jack Lopresti, MP Ian Austin, MP Robert Halfon, MP Mary Glindon, MP Henry Smith, MP, Stephen Metcalfe, Lord Clement Jones, and Lady Hodgson of Abinnger.
“We have received an urgent letter from the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region asking us to help encourage the ‘immediate and active involvement of our partners in the international community to avoid developments that we view as dangerous to our joint interests of peace, stability, and prosperity in the wider Middle East’ and to ‘help us request the engagement of the wider UK Government in initiating a dialogue between Erbil and Baghdad,’” the letter read.
The British lawmakers deemed Baghdad’s reaction to the Kurdistan Region's referendum on independence 'harsh' and found it to be 'violating the constitution.'
They also mentioned that they welcome the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) offer to freeze the result of the referendum and call for the suspension of all military activities to allow for an open dialogue between the KRG and the Federal Government of Iraq.
“We do not see any reason why this cannot include proposals contained in the letter of 23rd September, agreed with the Iraqi Prime Minister, and which contained useful suggestions for such a dialogue. We acknowledge the work of our diplomats in this process.”
Ties between Erbil and Baghdad have considerably deteriorated following the Sep. 25 referendum, which the central government labeled unconstitutional and illegal.
“We are, therefore, asking you and our colleagues to encourage an end to the conflict between our partners in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region and to do so as matter of the utmost urgency,” the letter concluded.
A few British MPs, including Lopresti, monitored the voting process in the Kurdistan Region on Sep. 25 as foreign observers.
Editing by Nadia Riva