“We are providing military supervision for the Kurdish forces in the Kurdistan Region,” Pistorius told reporters at the German military base in Erbil. “Our work and aid to the Kurdistan Region will continue.”
Pistorius underscored the importance of the German forces being present in the Kurdistan Region, praising their commitment to the Kurdish Peshmerga forces in combating ISIS.
“The presence of our forces here is important to combat ISIS,” he said.
In their meeting, Pistorius and Barzani discussed Berlin’s ties with Baghdad and Erbil and its continued support in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS), with Germany having been an active member of the US-led anti-ISIS coalition.
Pistorius arrived in Erbil after a visit to Baghdad, where he met with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani to discuss the developments in Syria and bilateral ties.
Iraq is concerned that it may be affected by Syria’s civil conflict as a coalition of Syrian rebels led by the Islamist Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) has taken control of swathes of land in Syria, including Damascus. Earlier this week, they ended Bashar al-Assad’s decades-long reign.
Germany is holding talks with Turkey, Iraq, and the Kurdistan Region on the situation in Syria, according to Pistorius.
He called Turkey’s role “even more interesting for the entire region after the end of Assad in Syria,” with Ankara having backed rebels of the Syrian National Army (SNA) to seize vast swathes of territory in northern Syria and also to fight Kurdish-led forces.
With military bases in Baghdad and Erbil, the German forces have been an essential member of the coalition that was established in October 2014 after ISIS took control of vast swathes of territories in Iraq and Syria.
German troops are also in Iraq as part of NATO’s mission, which focuses on security sector reforms.
In September, the German government requested parliamentary authorization to prolong its military presence in Iraq with the deployment of 500 soldiers until January 31, 2026.
In October, the German parliament overwhelmingly voted in favor of the request to extend Berlin’s military mission in Iraq for another 15 months.
President Barzani welcomed the decision at the time.
