EBRIL, Kurdistan Region - Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Thursday met with United Kingdom’s Chief of the Defence Staff Sir Anthony Radakin to discuss regional developments, the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS), and relations between Erbil, Baghdad, and London.
According to a statement from President Barzani’s office, the talks covered “the current situation in the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, the rapid developments in the region, especially in Syria, and the role of the international coalition in the fight against ISIS.”
The meeting, also attended by Kurdistan Region Vice President Sheikh Jaafar Sheikh Mustafa, senior Peshmerga officials, and British Ambassador to Baghdad Stephen Hitchen, focused on security and stability in the region.
President Barzani praised the UK’s “role and continued support” for the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, expressing gratitude for British assistance in the reform and unification of the Peshmerga forces.
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.
Islamic State (ISIS) cells have taken advantage of the chaos in Syria since the start of the escalations and carried out hit-and-run attacks on the SDF in the Syrian desert, gaining territory. The United States on Sunday said that it carried out airstrikes against 75 ISIS camps in Syria, to prevent the group from taking “advantage” of the recent developments in the country.
The UK has helped train the Kurdish Peshmerga during the war on ISIS and is part of a team of international allies working on major reforms of the Peshmerga ministry.
Radakin, on his side, reaffirmed “his country's commitment to further support and strengthen joint cooperation” with both Iraqi and Kurdish partners, emphasizing the need for sustained collaboration “to ensure the successful fight against the threat of terrorism and maintain stability in the region,” the statement added.
The United Kingdom also shares strong relations with Iraq in the fields of military and security, and signed a Strategic Partnership in 2021, aimed at increasing cooperation in the economy, education, culture, and other sectors.
