MUNICH, Germany—The Western powers, particularly Germany have promised to supply more arms to the Kurdish forces in the coming days, said Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani on Sunday.
“Our meeting with Angela Merkel was very productive and she is very concerned with the situation in Kurdistan,” Barzani told Rudaw. “She also told me that they have decided to send more and better weapons to the Peshmerga which was delightful news.”
The Kurdish president who attended the Munich Security Conference with other world leaders said that he had met with the German Defense Minister and her European counterparts on the sidelines of the conference.
Germany has been one of Kurdistan Region’s staunch allies in the war against the Islamic State (ISIS). German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen has visited Erbil twice in the past few months.
Barzani said that he also met with a number of US senators who had pledged to pursue more arms to the Kurds with the US government.
“What is important is that they all have a lot of respect for the bravery and dedication of our Peshmerga forces,” said Barzani.
Barzani also met with Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi for the first time in Munich where they discussed the war against ISIS and future plans for Mosul.
“I met with Abadi and we discussed many issues among them the situation in Mosul and we agreed to have more cooperation between us from now on,” said Barzani.
The Peshmerga forces have pushed back ISIS on many fronts and are currently positioned 25 kilometers outside Mosul, but Kurdish leaders believe the Iraqi government and local Sunnis are responsible for the city’s final liberation.
