US Vice President-elect emphasizes Washington support to Kurdistan

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan24) – US Vice President-elect Mike Pence on Friday expressed the new Washington administration’s support to Peshmerga and the Kurdistan Region during a phone call with President Masoud Barzani.

In a phone conversation with the President of the Kurdistan Region, Pence praised the role of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces in the fight against the Islamic State (IS), according to the Kurdistan Region Presidency (KRP) media office.

Additionally, Pence extended the support of the US and the new government’s administration to the people of the Kurdistan Region and Kurdish forces.

President Barzani congratulated Pence and the US President-elect Donald Trump for their victory in the recent presidential election.

He also praised both for expressing their support to the Kurdistan Region during their election campaigns.

Pence had previously visited Erbil, the capital of the Kurdistan Region, as a US Congressman and met with Kurdish officials, including President Barzani.

According to a KRP statement at the time, Pence and his accompanying delegation visited Kurdistan “to see the progress being made in Iraq’s most stable and prosperous region.”

Moreover, the President also mentioned the people of Kurdistan had faced many adversaries and challenges, and called on the new US administration to support the rights and demands of the Kurdish people.

The bilateral relations between Erbil and Washington were another topic discussed during the phone conversation.

Trump had previously praised the Kurds many times in several interviews and speeches.

“I’m a fan of the Kurds…I’m a big fan of the Kurdish forces,” Trump told The New York Times.

The Kurdistan Region is home to over 1.8 million refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) who fled from Syria and other parts of Iraq due to the threat of IS.

Editing by Karzan Sulaivany