“President Barzani expressed the Kurdistan Region’s gratitude for Germany’s continued support to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region in all fields,” said a statement from Barzani’s office. He praised Germany’s role in assisting the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS), German support for the unification of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces, and Berlin’s assistance for minority communities, particularly Yazidis.
During the meeting, Pistorius reaffirmed Berlin’s commitment to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region and “expressed his satisfaction” with the duty of the Kurdish Peshmerga forces, the statement added.
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.
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.
