WASHINGTON, DC - Kurdistan Region’s political parties must “work quickly” to form a government as it is in the best interest of the people and Iraq as a whole, United States Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iraq and Iran Victoria Taylor told Rudaw in an interview on Wednesday.
Taylor said government formation was one of the key topics of discussion when she met with the political leadership during her recent visit to the Kurdistan Region.
"I think from my conversations… there's a strong understanding that forming a government as soon as possible is in the best interest of the people and the best interest of both parties," she said.
“This is important not only to be able to deliver on the priorities for the people in the IKR [Iraqi-Kurdistan] region, but we also think it's in the best interest of Iraq to have a Kurdish regional government in place as soon as possible," she said.
Kurdistan Region voters elected a new parliament in October, but the legislature has since met just once. No party won a majority in the election and the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) have yet to reach a final agreement on a power-sharing government. Before the election, the parliament had been suspended for two years as its term had expired.
Taylor also addressed restarting Kurdistan Region’s oil exports that have been stalled for two years, and budget disputes between Erbil and Baghdad.
She also spoke about the role of militia groups in Iraq, reiterating longstanding US concerns over Iran-aligned groups within the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), some of which are designated terrorist organizations by the US.
“The Government of Iraq needs to take steps to rein in these terrorist groups. We believe that's in the best interest. It's not only a US interest. We believe this is in the interest of Iraq. These groups do not play a role in keeping Iraq secure,” she said.
Below is the full transcript of the interview:
Rudaw: Let’s start with your recent visit to Kurdistan Region, you went to the Sulaimani Forum. Did you have any messages for the people who you met there? What did you discuss with people at the forum?
Taylor: United States Deputy Assistant Secretary for Iraq and Iran Victoria Taylor: Right. Well, yes, I was recently in Iraq. I had a chance to go to both Erbil and to Sulaimani and to participate in a panel at the Sulaimani Forum. While I was there, I was able to meet with a range of Kurdish officials, including Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, President Nechirvan Barzani, as well as Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani and PUK [Patriotic Union of Kurdistan] leader Bafel Talabani. And I also had a chance to meet with Kak Masoud Barzani [leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, KDP]. So I was able to, I think, have good, really positive discussions with the full range of leaders. And I'd say the focus is always, you know, the importance of the US partnership with the Kurdistan Region, what we can do, not only to sustain that, but what we can do to strengthen it. And I think there's a few core issues that we've been focused on. One, we continue to urge our Kurdish friends to work quickly to form a new Kurdish regional government. This is important not only to be able to deliver on the priorities for the people in the IKR [Iraqi-Kurdistan] region, but we also think it's in the best interest of Iraq to have a Kurdish regional government in place as soon as possible
On the sidelines of the Sulaimani Forum, you met Kurdistan President Nechirvan Barzani. You didn't meet him in Erbil. So, what did you discuss with the president of the Kurdistan Region? Did you discuss the Peshmerga reforms because he is presiding over the committees responsible for these reforms?
So, I'd say, you know, I touched on similar issues throughout my visits to the IKR, including with the range of Kurdish officials, you know, focused on quick formation of the Kurdistan Regional Government, an opportunity to talk about shared priorities of regional concern, including Syria. But then also really a focus on seeing what the KRG region and what our partners can do to bring the Iraq-Turkey pipeline back online. We know this is a priority, not only for the KRG, we believe it's in the best interest of the Iraqi government in Baghdad as well. But certainly we have many international oil companies that are eager to see this pipeline come back online.
Did you meet any Iraqi officials when in the Kurdistan Region or did you go to Baghdad?
I did not visit Baghdad, but I did have an opportunity to meet with Prime Minister Sudani, also an opportunity to discuss the US-Iraq partnership, what we can do to strengthen it, but a focus, again, on trying to build and strengthen US-Iraq economic ties. Of course, Baghdad has just hosted a very large visit of American companies, led by the US-Iraq Business Chamber. So, we see a lot of opportunities, not only in Baghdad, but also in the IKR to identify investment opportunities for US companies to really broaden those economic ties.
You mentioned the Kurdistan Region oil exports. This has been an issue for two years, and this administration is very focused on this issue. So, to your understanding, why are the Iraqi government, the KRG government, and the US companies, or Turkey not resuming the oil exports? Everyone says that we agree and we are just about to start, but they are not starting. What’s the issue?
Yes, obviously this has been a lot more complicated, I think, than anyone would have liked. And two years to have the pipeline closed is a long time. This is a real economic cost, not only for the companies involved, but for the Iraqi Kurdistan Region as well as federal Iraq. And so, we are eager to see if there are ways to find compromise between all parties that would allow the pipeline to come back online. Unfortunately, that compromise has not yet been reached, but we can continue to encourage all sides to be as flexible as possible and constructive in these negotiations.
Regarding the Kurdistan Region Government formation, you met different political parties in Erbil and Sulaimani. You met President Barzani and different politicians. How do you see the efforts to form a unified government in the Kurdistan Region? You know, there are still two zones in the Kurdistan Region [areas of KDP and PUK control] and the US is concerned about this. Did you see a willingness from both parties to have a unified government, and are you engaging with them to have this unified government?
Yes, well, certainly we continue to urge all sides to work quickly to find common ground on the positions necessary to form a cabinet, and I think from my conversations both with senior KDP officials and PUK officials, I believe there's strong understanding that forming a government as soon as possible is in the best interest of the people and in the best interest of both parties, and so we hope that they will be able to form the cabinet very soon. But of course, you know, we heard the discussions are ongoing, but I think we heard optimism and a real desire to form the government from all parties we spoke to.
What are your thoughts about the budget dispute between Erbil and Baghdad? Is either side being unreasonable?
Obviously, these are very complicated issues, and I know we continue to encourage both Baghdad and officials in Erbil to negotiate closely together in order to find a solution. Obviously, it's important to the IKR region to have regular salary payments, and we believe that it's in the best interest of federal Iraq as well to have a strong and resilient IKR.
Last week, you met Iraqi Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Fuad Hussein. Have you touched on the militia issue with him? And has this administration requested Iraq dismantle these militia groups, especially those who are not responding to the Iraqi commander-in-chief?
Of course, it's a long-standing US position that there are US concerns with Iran-aligned militia groups that we've designated as terrorist organizations that happen to be within the PMF [Popular Mobilization Forces], and we've always, as we've always said, both publicly and privately, the Government of Iraq needs to take steps to rein in these terrorist groups. We believe that's in the best interest. It's not only a US interest. We believe this is in the interest of Iraq. These groups do not play a role in keeping Iraq secure.
Have they taken any steps so far? Did you see any steps on the ground to dismantle, to bring these groups under the umbrella of the Iraqi government?
Well, this is, of course, an ongoing conversation that we have with the Iraqi government about not only how Iraq can take steps to strengthen its own stability and sovereignty, but how we can continue to advance the US-Iraq security partnership. And those conversations are ongoing.
My last question - you don’t have an ambassador to Iraq. President Joe Biden nominated an ambassador but she did not get confirmation from Congress. So, are we going to see a new ambassador to Iraq soon? Have you talked about this, and what's the implication of not having an ambassador in Iraq at this critical time?
So of course, I fully anticipate that the White House will nominate an ambassador to Iraq. I don't have any news for you right now, though. But this is of course an extremely important relationship, and one that we value.
