U.S, KRG Hail ‘Long Partnership,’ as Blinken, Barzani Meet
WASHINGTON DC, United States (Kurdistan 24) – In comments before their meeting on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani strongly praised bilateral relations between Washington and Erbil.
“The United States has a long partnership with the KRG, with the Kurdistan Regional Government,” Blinken said, as he began his opening remarks.
Shared U.S., Kurdish Sacrifice
The partnership between the U.S. and the Kurdistan Region “is cemented, first and foremost, in shared values, shared interests, and also a shared history of sacrifice together,” Blinken said.
Indeed, when George W. Bush decided, following the 9/11 attacks, to overthrow Saddam Hussein’s regime, the first U.S. forces deployed to the Kurdistan Region. Since the 1991 Gulf War, it had enjoyed a semi-independent status, protected by a U.S. no-fly zone, which deterred Saddam against any serious effort to re-conquer the region.
And, again, in 2014, as Iraqi forces in northern Iraq collapsed in the face of a sudden onslaught from ISIS, it was the Kurdish Peshmerga who held the line.
Blinken stressed that the common fight was “something that we take very seriously, and something that for me personally over many, many years in working in this area” has “meant a great deal.”
Barzani, for his part, echoed that sentiment.
“Of course, we are great friends and partners, and we are very proud to say that we are American allies,” the Kurdish prime minister said. “We have been through some very difficult times, and we are very thankful, and we express our gratitude for the support that the U.S. has always given to our people.”
Blinken also hailed the economic dimension to the partnership between Washington and Erbil. Describing the role that the KRG has played as “a critical partner for stability in the region,” he noted that it encompasses “the health of the private sector, including American investments.
New Challenges
In their remarks, both Blinken and Barzani alluded to new issues in the region, facing both Washington and Erbil.
“This period has its share of challenges as well,” Blinken said, “but being able to face them together is very important.”
Barzani, for his part, also noted, “Now we are facing new challenges,” and “I’m looking
forward to our discussions to talk about the developments in the region, about Iraq, and especially about our bilateral relations with the United States.”
In a statement released on the eve of his meeting with Blinken, Barzani’s office said that they would “address pertinent developments in Iraq, the Kurdistan Region, and the wider Middle East.”
That likely includes redoubled Iranian aggression with the war in Gaza, including against the Kurdistan Region, as well as increased political pressure from Iran’s allies in Baghdad against the Kurdistan Region.
Read More: KRG Prime Minister Meets with U.S. Secretary of State
Indeed, that point is underscored by the fact that when Safeen Dizayee, head of the KRG’s Department of Foreign Relations, visited Washington last September, his only meetings were with Congressmen.
But Hamas’s brutal Oct. 7 attack on Israel, and the support for Hamas from Iran, including the militia groups, it backs, has roiled the entire Middle East.
The KRG delegation includes the Minister for Peshmerga Affairs, Shoresh Ismail, as well as Dizayee, providing some insights into the issues being discussed.
Barzani held two important meetings last month at the World Economic Forum in Davos. The first was with Blinken.
Read More: PM Barzani, US Secretary of State Blinken address security and stability in Kurdish region
The second meeting was with White House National Security Advisor, Jake Sullivan.
Those meetings now appear to have been preliminary to Barzani’s visit to Washington, establishing the point that such a visit would likely be fruitful.
Thank you @SecBlinken for your staunch support to the Kurdistan Region and Iraq.
— Masrour Barzani (@masrourbarzani) February 26, 2024
Our partnership is a pillar of our progress. We allied to free Iraq from dictatorship, we defeated Isis, and we now look towards new horizons of economic strength and stability -mb. pic.twitter.com/jkfsQJ6L9t