US, Iraq talks on transition to security bilateral relations ‘not something new’, says KRG envoy

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – The renewed talks between the Iraqi government and the United States to discuss the future security relations between the countries is not something new, as the two countries already initiated the dialogue last year, a KRG envoy said on Sunday.

The remarks by the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Representative to the US Treefa Aziz came during an interview with Kurdistan24 on Sunday following her participation at the first day of the Third Conference of KRG Representations Abroad.

The discussions regarding the a transition from coalition framework into a bilateral relation “is not something new”, Aziz said, recalling the creation of the Higher Military Commission at the Strategic Dialogue discussions between the US and Iraqi military as well as the Kurdistan Region Peshmerga last year.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ Al-Sudani on Saturday attended a joint meeting of the top Iraqi and Coalition commanders in Baghdad as part of the first meeting of the Higher Military Commission (HMC) to assess the current status of threats from the ISIS remnants as well as the capabilities of the Iraqi forces in countering ISIS, among other topics.

“I do not believe that the Americans just get up and leave tomorrow,” the envoy said, adding it would be a “long process”.

The diplomat said her government has been clear about the necessity of maintaining the US presence, including through new bilateral relations, she said.

Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani in early January officially reiterated the importance of maintaining the work and operations of the US-led Coalition against ISIS to continue enabling and assisting the Iraqi and Kurdistan Region Peshmerga forces.

Since 2021, the 86-member coalition has been operating in an advisory role to the Kurdish and Iraqi forces that fight the remnants of the Islamic State, whose self-acclaimed caliphate was toppled in 2017.

The presence of the Coalition forces in the country has been at the invitation of the Iraqi government, the security consortium regularly says, adding the protection of the forces is the responsibility of the country as the host state.

The Iraqi militias have recently increased drone attacks on the Coalition bases in Anbar and Erbil, where they are often shot down by the forces’ air defense system.