Kurdistan government officials stress importance of strategic agreement with the US
Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Minister Falah Mustafa Bakir, Head of the Department of Foreign Relations, and Mr Qubad Talabani, Representative of the KRG in the US, held three days of intensive meetings in Washington with senior Bush Administration officials and Members of Congress about developments in the Kurdistan Region, Iraq and the Middle East.
In meetings with top officials at the Pentagon and State Department, Minister Bakir and Mr Talabani reiterated Kurdistan's commitment to partnership with the United States in support of a democratic federal Iraq, and in the fight against terrorism.
They also stressed that the KRG supports completion of talks on a US-Iraq strategic agreement as soon as possible, as well as passage and enactment of the Iraqi provincial elections and hydrocarbons laws.
"We strongly support a strategic agreement between the US and Iraq and are working with other Iraqi parties to reach agreement on an elections law and a hydrocarbons law in accordance with the Iraqi constitution," said Minister Bakir.
"The KRG is part of the solution, not the problem, in meeting these Iraqi benchmarks," said Mr Talabani.
Minister Bakir and Mr Talabani also made clear that Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution must provide the basis for any resolution of the situation in Kirkuk and other disputed Iraqi territories. "There can be no resolution of the status of Kirkuk outside Article 140," said Minister Bakir.
The KRG delegation explained to US officials the situation in Khanaqin. Mr Bakir said, "Khanaqin is a city whereby over 90% of its residents are Kurdish. It was peaceful before Prime Minister Maliki decided to send Iraqi forces there. The KRG wants peaceful relations, and I am hopeful about the ongoing talks, but we will not be intimidated through force of arms."
In addition to their meetings with Administration officials, Minister Bakir and Talabani met with many Republican and Democratic members of Congress about the situation in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, and about the Kurdish-American Congressional Caucus, which now number 18 Democrats and Republicans. "Our reception in Congress was outstanding," said Minister Bakir. "The Kurdish-American Caucus is a major achievement for US and Iraqi Kurdistan's relations."
Talabani said, "We formally launched the Caucus only four months ago, in May, during the visit to Washington of Prime Minister Barzani. It has been one of my top priorities as the KRG representative in Washington, and I could not be more pleased with the progress so far. That we now have 18 members in such a short time is testimony to the recognition of our many common values and interests, and also to the deep friendship between the Kurds and the United States."
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