Threats on Kurdistan Region have to be reduced, says interior minister

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) – Kurdistan Region Interior Minister Rebar Ahmed on Tuesday said  in a press conference that “threats to the Kurdistan Region must be reduced.”

The remarks by the top Kurdish official came after he met with Turkish Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler in Erbil. 

“The Kurdistan Region should no longer be used to settle external disputes, and stability should be restored to the borders,” Minister Ahmed said.

He also revealed that the Turkish Minister of Defense addressed relations and coordination between Turkey and Iraq to improve border stability and promote further development during his visit to Baghdad.

Accompanied by Chief of the Turkish General Staff Metin Gürak, the defense chief arrived in Baghdad on Tuesday and met with Iraqi top officials.

They later flew to Erbil, where they were received by Kurdistan Region Minister of Peshmerga Affairs Shorish Ismael.

In Erbil, Güler met with Kurdistan Region senior officials including The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) President and former President of Kurdistan Region Masoud Barzani, Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, and Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani.

Border security issues between Iraq and Turkey have taken center stage in the meetings Güler had in Baghdad.

Turkey and Iraq have had rocky relations in the past decades, largely due to the presence of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which has been fighting Ankara since the mid-1980s.

Kurdistan Region officials regularly call on Baghdad, officially in charge of border security affairs, to prevent insurgents and foreign militaries from engaging in hostilities within its territory. Officials have voiced concerns about the increased militia forces' presence there.