Lloyd Austin arrived in Erbil on Tuesday afternoon, where he met with President of the Kurdistan Region and the Commander in Chief of the Region’s Armed Forces Nechirvan Barzani.
In a joint press conference following their meeting, Barzani expressed his gratitude for Washington’s long-standing support.
“Mutual interests and principles bring us together with the US,” Barzani said. “We thank America for their continuous support to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.”
Austin went on to praise the Kurdish Peshmerga forces in their fight against the Islamic State (ISIS).
“Through the global coalition to defeat Daesh [ISIS], we have liberated more than 50,000 square kilometers from the nightmare of Daesh and freed more than 4.5 million Iraqis, so let me applaud the invaluable contributions to this fight made by the Kurdish Peshmerga as part of Iraq's security forces,” he said.
Austin is currently on a multi-day tour to Washington partner nations in the Middle East. He kicked off his tour in Jordan on Sunday, meeting with King Abdullah II. The purpose of the defense chief’s visit is to emphasize US’ continued commitment to their partners in the region, according to the Pentagon.
After landing in Baghdad on Tuesday morning, Austin met with Iraq’s Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani and Defense Minister Thabet Muhammad al-Abbasi, reiterating Washington’s commitment to assisting Iraq in eliminating the threat of ISIS.
The global coalition against ISIS was formally established in October 2014, after ISIS took control of vast swathes of territories in Iraq and Syria. Consisting of 79 nations and five international organizations, the US-led coalition seeks to ensure ISIS’ “enduring defeat.”
The US security relationship with Iraq fully transitioned into an advising and assisting role in December 2021. There are currently about 2,500 US troops in Iraq, including in the Kurdistan Region.
