Iraqi PM Abdul-Mahdi visits Erbil to meet with senior Kurdish officials

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Iraq’s caretaker Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi arrived in Erbil Saturday morning where he was received at the airport by Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani. He is expected to visit Sulaimani as well. The trip comes amid a political crisis in Baghdad and heightened tensions between Iraqi allies – the United States and Iran. 

In their meeting, Barzani and Abdul-Mahdi stressed that “Iraq should not be turned into a field for regional and international conflicts,” according to a readout from the president’s office.

“The importance of the continuation of international aid and support for Iraq and the Kurdistan Region in the fight against terrorism, threats of terror resurgence, and ISIS terrorist activities in Iraq, especially areas located between Peshmerga and Iraqi forces, were also discussed in the meeting,” the statement added. 

Abdul-Mahdi also met with Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and Barzani’s cabinet. During their meeting, the Kurdish prime minister reiterated the call for coordination between Baghdad and Erbil, with the support of international coalition forces, to fight ISIS. 

Abdul-Mahdi said there is “a good opportunity” to resolve issues between the federal and regional governments with “determination and serious will,” according to a statement from the Kurdistan Regional Government. 

The governments in Erbil and Baghdad do not agree on the status of foreign forces in Iraq. 

Iraqi lawmakers passed a non-binding resolution on Sunday, calling for the expulsion of foreign forces after the United States killed ten people in a drone strike in Baghdad airport on January 3, including Qasem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Quds Force, and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy leader of Iraq’s Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), locally known as the Hashd al-Shaabi. 

The measure passed with Shiite support only after Kurds and some Sunnis boycotted the parliamentary session. The Kurdish leadership in Erbil argued that the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) is not over yet and Iraq still needs the help of American and coalition forces. 

Erbil has sought to stay neutral, maintaining contact with allies in both Washington and Tehran, although President Barzani's office did issue a statement voicing support for a continued Coalition presence in Iraq.

However, in a statement about today's meeting released on social media, Prime Minister Abdul-Mahdi seemed to indicate that President Barzani would follow the Iraqi federal government's lead, stating that Barzani "said that the Kurdistan Region's position is to support Iraq's interests, and that any decision made by the federal government is [the KRG's] position."

Later on in the statement, Abdul-Mahdi reiterated that "[Barzani] affirmed his support for the positions of the Iraqi government." These statements seem to contrast with the public statements President Barzani has made regarding the Global Coalition to defeat ISIS and the decision of Kurdish parliamentary blocs to boycott the vote on the resolution.

Abdul-Mahdi resigned from his post in late 2019 following months of protests against the government, but he remains premier in a caretaker role as the Shiite blocs – which hold the most seats in the parliament – have failed to agree on a replacement that is also acceptable to the protesters.

The prime minister was accompanied on his trip by cabinet members and military commanders. 

 
Updated at 10:56 pm