The leader of the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq Masoud Barzani concluded a visit to the United States on Friday, where he discussed the option of directly delivering arms to Kurdish Peshmerga fighters and the question of self-determination for the Kurdish people.
US President Barack Obama met with Mr Barzani, with the Kurdish President’s Chief of Staff, Fuad Hussein, stating talks would revolve around self-determination. “The question of self-determination is a just right of the Kurds and how Kurdistan’s self-determination is to be handled will certainly be discussed,” Mr Hussein said. “Kurds have their own vision for the area, but we will see how the Americans view it, too.”
A White House press release said the leaders discussed the “ongoing political initiatives to address the needs of the Iraqi people and foster cooperation across all communities” whilst the US leaders “reaffirmed the United States’ enduring commitment under the Strategic Framework Agreement to a united, federal, and democratic Iraq, as defined in the Iraqi constitution”.
Speaking at the Atlantic Council the day after the meeting at an event co-sponsored by the United States Institute of Peace, Mr Barzani said “certainly an independent Kurdistan is coming.”
Though he did not say when independence would be achieved he said it was a “continuing process.” “It will not stop. It will not step back… We want it to be not through violence, not through killing. We want it to be through peace and understanding and dialogue,” he added. “It will take place when the security situation is better and when the fight against ISIS is over… The people of Kurdistan have to be given the opportunity to exercise the right to self-determination—for them to tell us and to tell the rest of the world what do they want, what are their dreams and aspirations.”
Also a topic that was discussed was the delivery of weapons to the Kurdish fighters, currently battling Islamic State. “President Obama and Vice President Biden each commended the bravery of the Kurdish Peshmerga,” said the White House as the Kurds appealed for arms to be directly delivered to them.
The Iraqi government expressed unease at the notion and US Vice President Joseph Biden in a phone call with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, assured him that all military assistance “must be coordinated through the government of Iraq.”
The meeting comes after the US House Armed Services Committee authorised a request for $715 million of security assistance for the Iraqi armed forces, but stipulated that 25 percent of the funds must be given directly to Kurdish forces. Mr Obama disagreed with the stipulation, which sparked a backlash from hard line Iraqi Shiites and the Iraqi government.
Commenting on the situation Mr Barzani said “if we are asked, we would prefer these weapons to be sent to us directly”. "I would like to reiterate: If it were up to us, we would like to get them directly," added Mr Barzani. "We have not backed down from our position. We insist that the weapons get to the hands of the peshmerga."
US President Barack Obama met with Mr Barzani, with the Kurdish President’s Chief of Staff, Fuad Hussein, stating talks would revolve around self-determination. “The question of self-determination is a just right of the Kurds and how Kurdistan’s self-determination is to be handled will certainly be discussed,” Mr Hussein said. “Kurds have their own vision for the area, but we will see how the Americans view it, too.”
A White House press release said the leaders discussed the “ongoing political initiatives to address the needs of the Iraqi people and foster cooperation across all communities” whilst the US leaders “reaffirmed the United States’ enduring commitment under the Strategic Framework Agreement to a united, federal, and democratic Iraq, as defined in the Iraqi constitution”.
Speaking at the Atlantic Council the day after the meeting at an event co-sponsored by the United States Institute of Peace, Mr Barzani said “certainly an independent Kurdistan is coming.”
Though he did not say when independence would be achieved he said it was a “continuing process.” “It will not stop. It will not step back… We want it to be not through violence, not through killing. We want it to be through peace and understanding and dialogue,” he added. “It will take place when the security situation is better and when the fight against ISIS is over… The people of Kurdistan have to be given the opportunity to exercise the right to self-determination—for them to tell us and to tell the rest of the world what do they want, what are their dreams and aspirations.”
Also a topic that was discussed was the delivery of weapons to the Kurdish fighters, currently battling Islamic State. “President Obama and Vice President Biden each commended the bravery of the Kurdish Peshmerga,” said the White House as the Kurds appealed for arms to be directly delivered to them.
The Iraqi government expressed unease at the notion and US Vice President Joseph Biden in a phone call with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, assured him that all military assistance “must be coordinated through the government of Iraq.”
The meeting comes after the US House Armed Services Committee authorised a request for $715 million of security assistance for the Iraqi armed forces, but stipulated that 25 percent of the funds must be given directly to Kurdish forces. Mr Obama disagreed with the stipulation, which sparked a backlash from hard line Iraqi Shiites and the Iraqi government.
Commenting on the situation Mr Barzani said “if we are asked, we would prefer these weapons to be sent to us directly”. "I would like to reiterate: If it were up to us, we would like to get them directly," added Mr Barzani. "We have not backed down from our position. We insist that the weapons get to the hands of the peshmerga."
"We have been given assurances from the U.S. administration that they care about this issue ... and they assured us that the peshmerga will receive the necessary weapons."