Continued cooperation with US essential for Iraq’s stability: Top US defense official
ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The continued cooperation of Washington with Erbil and Baghdad is essential to maintain a stable and sovereign Iraq, US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin said in a letter to Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani on Thursday while praising the bilateral commitment to the fight against terrorism.
“The continued cooperation of the United States and the Kurdistan Region, in coordination with Baghdad, is essential for a secure, stable, and sovereign Iraq,” Austin said in the letter to Barzani while praising the “shared commitment” to ensure the lasting defeat of the Islamic State (ISIS). https://presidency.gov.krd/en/president-nechirvan-barzani-receives-a-letter-from-the-us-secretary-of-defense-lloyd-austin/
Austin visited Erbil earlier in March and was greeted by Barzani, after which both officials held a press conference and the Region’s president thanked Washington for its long-standing support.
“Mutual interests and principles bring us together with the US,” Barzani said at the time. “We thank America for their continuous support to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.”
About his visit to Erbil, Austin wrote that he was “pleased to affirm the strength and importance of the partnership between the United States and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq,” according to the Region’s presidency.
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.
“The continued cooperation of the United States and the Kurdistan Region, in coordination with Baghdad, is essential for a secure, stable, and sovereign Iraq,” Austin said in the letter to Barzani while praising the “shared commitment” to ensure the lasting defeat of the Islamic State (ISIS). https://presidency.gov.krd/en/president-nechirvan-barzani-receives-a-letter-from-the-us-secretary-of-defense-lloyd-austin/
Austin visited Erbil earlier in March and was greeted by Barzani, after which both officials held a press conference and the Region’s president thanked Washington for its long-standing support.
“Mutual interests and principles bring us together with the US,” Barzani said at the time. “We thank America for their continuous support to Iraq and the Kurdistan Region.”
About his visit to Erbil, Austin wrote that he was “pleased to affirm the strength and importance of the partnership between the United States and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq,” according to the Region’s presidency.
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.