Shkoi Kurdistan-
British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Wednesday visited the president of the Kurdistan Region in Erbil and discussed a wide range of issues, including strengthening bilateral ties.
“We value our relationship with the UK, and we are grateful for the UK’s continued support. Our relationship was born 30 years ago in the mountains of Kurdistan in April 1991,” President of the Kurdistan Region, Nechirvan Barzani, said at a press conference following the meeting with Raab in Erbil.
Barzani added a wide range of topics were covered during the meeting, including reinforcing ties, resolving issues between Erbil and Baghdad, the war on terrorism, the dangers of the reemergence of the Islamic State (ISIS), Iraqi elections and climate change in the region, among other issues.
“More recently our relations with the UK have in every stage continued, our cooperation and collaboration in the fight against Daesh (ISIS) expanded our relations. We thank the UK and other international allies against ISIS and the continuous support in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region,” Barzani said.
Raab stated, “The UK is very committed to deepening that partnership; in trade, in business and all the areas the president described.”
Raab explained the importance of “freedoms that are secured, guaranteed for the people of KRI [Kurdistan Region of Iraq], and in particular things like media freedom, freedom of expression” were discussed during the meeting with Barzani
The foreign secretary’s visit comes after he met with top Iraqi officials on a one-day visit to Baghdad on Tuesday, including meetings with President Barham Salih and Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.
Thirty years ago the United Nations Security Council declared a no-fly zone in the Kurdistan Region to provide a safe haven against the Baath regime that came to be known as the UNSCR 688. Sir John Major, then-Prime Minister of Britain, played an important role in securing the no-fly zone. One of Erbil’s streets was named after him in April, which Raab said he will later visit “and take a selfie there.”
Raab added that the Kurdistan Region has become “an enduring beacon of stability, resisting Iran’s destabilizing influence.”
Iranian-backed Shiite militias are accused of being behind the killings, rocket launches and destabilizing Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. A top Iran-backed militia group in Iraq has accused the United Kingdom of orchestrating an attack on the Iranian consulate in Karbala last month following the assassination of a well-known activist in the southern city.
Co-chair of the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), one of the Region’s leading parties, Bafel Talabani, on Tuesday met with head of the Popular Mobilisation Forces (PMF, or Hashd al-Shaabi), an Iran-backed Shiite militia group accused of being behind “heinous violations” against ethnic and religious communities in Iraq as well as rocket attacks on Iraq and Kurdistan Region’s foreign missions. The two discussed prioritizing the protection of the livelihood of citizens.
