Strengthened Peshmerga is in interest of Iraq’s stability: PM Masrour Barzani  

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – The Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said on Sunday that strengthened Peshmerga forces are in the interest of Iraq’s stability. 

Barzani made this remark during a meeting with a senior Iraqi security delegation, headed by the Iraqi military’s Chief of Staff, General Abd Al Amir Rashid Yarallah, and a number of top intelligence and military officials in Erbil. 

Barzani and the Iraqi officials discussed further cooperation between the Kurdistan Region’s Peshmerga and the Iraqi Security Forces. 

The Peshmerga forces should be treated as part of Iraq’s defense apparatus, and strengthening it is in the interest of Iraq’s stability, Barzani told the delegation. 

The Iraqi Army should represent all the country’s ethnic and religious components and defend them all equally, the prime minister added. 

The delegation briefed Barzani on the latest security developments in Iraq and noted that they intend to develop and strengthen cooperation between the Iraqi and Kurdish forces. 

Earlier, the officials met with Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani and President of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) Masoud Barzani in Erbil, where they discussed similar topics. 

Despite ISIS’s territorial loss in 2017, the group is still capable of launching low-level insurgencies against civilians and security forces.