![Iraqi President Fuad Masum [R] receives German defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen in Baghdad on February 10, 2018. Photo: social media/DW](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.rudaw.net%2Fs3%2Frudaw.net%2FContentFiles%2F358980Image1.jpg&w=3840&q=75)
BAGHDAD, Iraq – Germany is considering plans to shift the task of German troops stationed in Iraq following the defeat of the ISIS group that may include expanding the scope of the military support to the entire country, the German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said at a press conference following a meeting with the Iraqi President Fuad Masum.
She also met with the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Saturday in Baghdad.
Rudaw sources say she is expected to visit Erbil on Sunday.
Defense Minister Von der Leyen and Abadi discussed bilateral relations between the two sides including security ties, a statement from Abadi's office read on Saturday.
She said at the press conference that the new security situation in Iraq following the military defeat of the ISIS group requires her country to change the task of its troops in Iraq, according to German DW.
A team will be set up to discuss the details of such a shift, she said, "but it takes time."
She said that Germany understands that they have to expand their military cooperation to the rest of the county instead of just focusing on the Kurdistan Region.
Up to 150 German soldiers are based at the international anti-ISIS Combined Joint Operations Command Center in Erbil, where they have worked with Iraqi and Kurdish commanders, in addition to Peshmerga units through the Kurdistan Training Coordination Center (KTTC).
Germany's parliament in December voted to continue training Peshmerga through to April 2018, allocating 6.9 million euros in funds for the program.
Kurdish Prime Minister and Von der Leyen met in December when a KRG delegation visited Germany at the invitation of the German government.
Germany suspended the Peshmerga training briefly in October following military confrontation between the Iraqi and and Kurdish Peshmerga forces after the Kurdish vote on independence on September 25.
Berlin opposed the vote citing a distraction from the ISIS war, but the German government continued efforts to diffuse tensions between Erbil and Baghdad after the October clashes.
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel wanted to visit the Kurdistan Region in early November as part of a diplomatic tour that would have also included Baghdad, but PM Abadi reportedly demanded the trip be limited to Baghdad alone. FM Gabriel canceled his trip in opposition to Baghdad's request.
