Barzani: The presence of the American forces is necessary for Iraq, and the parliament’s decision set a bad precedent

Barzani: The presence of the American forces is necessary for Iraq, and the parliament’s decision set a bad precedent

1/17/2020 13:07

Barzani - The presence of the American forces is necessary for Iraq and the parliaments decision set a bad precedent[Follow-up] The
Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, said that the decision of the Iraqi parliament to remove American forces from Iraq was not a good decision as it was taken by the Shiite bloc only without consulting with the other major components in the country.
Noting that “it is better now is the serious participation and dialogue between Iraq and the United States on the future form of the deployment of the United States because the presence of American and coalition forces is necessary for all of Iraq.”

In this interview with Al-Monitor, Nechirvan Barzani said about the impact of the killing of Iranian Revolutionary Guards Commander Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis in a US drone air raid on Iraq and the Kurdistan Region: “This event triggered a flood of emotions in Iraq and the United States, including the reaction of parliament The Iraqi and the Iraqi Prime Minister, and by the same token, the response of Washington to the American forces will remain in Iraq regardless of what the parliament or the government and the like say, in my opinion it was also expressed with enthusiasm at the present moment, and the priority should be to put emotions aside, because we Now we need To contain the position, to control it. ”

He added, “Our opinion is that the decision taken by the Iraqi parliament was not a good decision and the Kurds and Sunnis did not participate in this decision, moreover, it sets a bad precedent, as the decision was taken by the Shiite bloc without consulting any of the main components of this country, the Kurds And the Sunnah (the Arabs) was a very decisive step that was taken without seeking consensus and thus violating the spirit of the Iraqi constitution. This is not good for Iraq, now or for the future.

Pointing out that “the question that must be addressed first is: Why are American forces present here? They are here at the invitation of the Iraqi government in 2014 and in consultation with the United Nations Security Council when ISIS was on the outskirts of Baghdad, and the second: Does the current situation in Iraq justify The withdrawal of American and coalition forces, given their mission, which is to help defeat ISIS? As much as we are the Kurdistan Regional Government, we are concerned that the answer is not clear, as all intelligence indicates that ISIS has regrouped and that they carry out attacks against Iraqi targets on a daily basis. Here, the interest of Kurdistan Iraq charges for US forces as they are in the interest of Iraq as a whole. ”

Negervan Barzani continued about the pressures being exerted by Iran to remove the American forces from Iraq, that “during the visit of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi here a few days ago, the impression we reached was that he was looking to solve this issue through dialogue rather than confrontation, it will be The idea is to come up with a new formula, to reshape, if you will, the future presence of American and coalition forces in Iraq. ”

Noting that “the presence of American and coalition forces is necessary for all of Iraq,” stressing that “the Iraqi Prime Minister is a pragmatic man looking to reformulate and redefine the future presence of these forces in Iraq, I do not think that relations between Iraq and the United States should be legislated through the media This is not helpful. ”

Regarding the statements of the Iraqi Prime Minister that the American forces should leave the country, he said: “The Prime Minister of Iraq has the right to submit his complaint and the fact that such a major operation was conducted on Iraqi soil near the airport without his knowledge would have provoked a negative response from Baghdad.”

Noting that “what is better now is the serious participation and dialogue between Iraq and the United States on the future form of the deployment of the United States.

On the assessment of the Iranian missile attack on the Americans, which also targeted Arbil, Negervan Barzani said:” The Iraqi leadership must maintain the interests, security and stability of the country, the Iraqi people , Before everything. The missile launch was a very clear message to everyone that Iran has the will and the ability to strike inside any part of Iraq. ”

He stressed that“ We do not want Iraq to become a battleground between Iran and America, and at the same time Iran is our old neighbor, just as the president The Iraqi ministers since he took office worked to avoid falling into the conflict between Iran and the United States. ”

On the transfer of US Vice President, Mike Pines, in November an invitation from US President Donald Trump for the President of the Kurdistan Region to attend a meeting at the White House he explained that” there is a permanent invitation but not An appointment is made after, the invitation was made before any of the occurrences This (the killing of Soleimani as well as the resignation of Abdul-Mahdi on November 29). The United States sees us as part of Iraq and deals with us this way. ”

On the possibility of his meeting with US President Donald Trump in Davos, Nechirvan Barzani said:“ I have to ask the foreign minister, it is not clear whether Trump will come to Davos, but I will meet the vice president pence in Davos. ”

regarding the relations between Washington and the Kurdistan region after the killing of Qassem Soleimani pointed out the President of the Kurdistan region that” enjoy the KRG legal and constitutional placing particular importance within the Iraqi equation, the US policy toward Iraq , any policy of an Iraqi one. ”

and the possibility that the territory Kurdistan is a mediator A possibility between Washington and Baghdad showed that “we certainly do and will do our part in this regard. We believe that it is truly in the interest of Iraq to do that and that the relations between Washington and Baghdad remain stable, and we are ready to do our utmost within the limits of our modest capabilities to contribute to stability and peace in this region. ”

As noted by the President of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, about Russia’s role in Iraq, after being active in Syria and Libya, said: “It is clear that Russia has an important role in this region.”

Regarding his opinion on concluding an agreement between the Kurds in Syria and the Syrian government, Nechirvan Barzani said: “In principle we believe that the issue of the Kurds in Syria should be resolved within the borders of Syria. I think that the Syrian government should be more prepared than it is now. The Kurds in Syria are Part of Syria, and the Russians can make a difference, but when I interviewed Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov specifically asked him to help offer a deal between the Kurds and the regime I think President Putin should do more in this regard. ”

He added, “Our advice in the past, present and future is that the Syrian Kurds find a way to reach an agreement with the regime, as I have repeatedly told them to cut their ties with the PKK in Qandil.”

“I always said that they did their best to provoke Turkey by placing the flags of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) and huge photos of the leader of the PKK, Abdullah Ocalan, on the Turkish border directly, and for years we have been asking them to separate from the PKK and try to understand Turkey’s fears to avoid this outcome.” That we have today. ”

On the relationship of the Kurdistan Region with Turkey, Nechirvan Barzani said: “Our relations with Turkey have always been important and good, and the Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region, Masrour Barzani, held a good meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and we will continue in this way.”

Stressing that: “We cannot allow Iraqi Kurdistan to become a launching pad for attacks against any of our neighbors, and this problem must be solved in Turkey by peaceful means, whenever I meet Turkish officials, I remind them of this, that this problem needs to be resolved through dialogue, not from Through military means, this is in the interest of both sides. ”

Stressing that “the Kurdistan Region has a constitutional legal status inside Iraq. This is a recognized fact inside Iraq and internationally, so it makes sense in this regard to draw similarities between Iraqi Kurdistan and Rojava. For us in Iraqi Kurdistan, whenever we feel an opportunity to help our brothers and sisters in Rojava and the Kurds in places Other than to solve their problems peacefully within the countries in which they live, we are always happy to do so. I would also like to take this opportunity to salute my brothers and sisters in Rojava for their great sacrifices on the frontline in the war against ISIS, for their courage and dedication. The large number of injuries sustained I did not Be only to defend themselves and Syria, but to defend humanity and for this we owe them a big thanks, and it must be, there is a constitutional protection for all their rights within the framework of a united Syria, they must be equal citizens and express themselves freely as a Kurd. ”

The Kurdistan Region President talked about the agreement with Baghdad about the budget, revenue sharing and oil, saying: “After long discussions and many trips to Baghdad, we have already reached an agreement. We almost finished the deal at the end of September, we were supposed to deliver more than 250,000 barrels of oil. To the Iraqi National Oil Company SOMO at the export terminals in the Turkish port of Ceyhan overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, they will market it and the revenues will go to the Iraqi treasury from which the Kurdistan Regional Government will obtain its share. ”

On Turkey’s share he said: “They have nothing to do with it. So what will happen mainly is that we have to pay transit fees to the Turkish side and this is Iraqi oil, regardless of where it is extracted. We have the remaining 200,000 barrels we have that cover payments to oil companies for their services. Some of our debts are theirs, but this deal is now forgotten and this uncertainty is clearly not good. However, as I mentioned, since March of last year, part of the salaries of public officials has been paid by the central government in Baghdad regularly About 55% We are talking about 380 million dollars a month It does not cover all salaries Our salary is for government employees, and social security is $ 700 million per month; 1.2 million people receive government salaries, of whom 700,000 are employees directly employed by the government, peshmerga, civil servants, etc. ”

“If you look at the performance of the previous government, we were often in a crisis management situation, with the budget dispute with Baghdad, and then ISIS, a lot has been achieved in the past ten years, but mistakes have also been made. The government has started,” Barzani said. Al-Jadida has a better relationship with Baghdad and the regional defeat of the Islamic State, and it has strongly embraced the reform process and the implementation of reforms and is trying to do a better job. And I think the prime minister is doing a good job. He has achieved a good balance in the cabinet, he is doing a good job. ”

President of the Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani concluded the interview by talking about the PUK conference, saying: “They held a party conference and it was successful despite all speculation. They formed a committee to solve all their internal issues, until now it is still not clear who will actually head the party, but I think the president will be The Iraqi Barham Salih. ”

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