Peshmerga ask Coalition to push for dialogue with Baghdad

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The US-led Coalition and the Peshmerga ministry held a “positive” meeting on Monday regarding the military standoff between the Iraqi and Kurdish forces, a Peshmerga spokesperson told Rudaw.

 

The Coalition is overseeing the ongoing talks between the two sides. Military officials from the Kurdistan Region and Iraq have held three security meetings but no official agreement has yet been made. 

 

Halgurd Hikmat said the Coalition listened to the concerns and the position of the Peshmerga with regard to the current tensions between the Kurdistan Region and Iraq that first broke out when Iraqi forces and their Iranian-backed Shiite Hashd al-Shaabi took control of Kirkuk on October 16.

 

The Peshmerga had been in control of Kirkuk and much of the disputed or Kurdistani areas since 2014 after the Iraqi forces withdrew in the face of ISIS advances.

 

“We asked the representatives of the Coalition to play an important role so that the problems between the Kurdistan Region and Baghdad will be resolved through dialogue,” Hikmat said.

 

Jabar Yawar, secretary-general of the Peshmerga ministry, said on Sunday that major disagreements remain between the two sides with regard to the deployment of Iraqi forces to the disputed areas and international borders.  The Peshmerga have demanded a joint mechanism, but Iraq has so far refused.

 

The Iraqi army wants to deploy their forces to all areas that were under their control before the US-led invasion of 2003 and also to have “exclusive” presence at the international borders. 

 

Hikmat said Coalition support of the Peshmerga and their cooperation is continuing.

 

Five wounded Peshmerga travelled to Coalition member Belgium on Monday to receive medical treatment, Hikmat said.

 

Kurds are continuing their calls for Baghdad to sit down for serious negotiations. Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani on Monday argued for talks, saying that there is no military solution to the problem.

 

The US Secretary of State indicated his support for political negotiations between Erbil and Baghdad in a recent phone call with PM Barzani.

 

Erbil has offered to halt military movements and freeze the outcome of the independence referendum in return for open dialogue with Baghdad.

 

The central government has so far rejected the offer and demanded the Kurdistan Region declare the vote null and void, a move supported by neighbors Iran and Turkey.

 

Iraq’s Supreme Court announced on Monday that the country’s constitution does not allow any community to separate. The office of the Iraqi prime minister welcomed the ruling while demanding Erbil declare that it will respect the verdict.