US-led coalition deputy commander encourages further Erbil-Baghdad security coordination
Maj. Gen. Strickland said the US-led coalition is “working very closely with the authorities across the whole of Iraq, including in the Kurdistan Region, to ensure that there is cooperation between the military forces on both sides.”
According to the Deputy Commander, the coalition’s goal is “to apply the pressure” on the Islamic State, “so that they cannot operate in those [disputed] areas that we know they feel otherwise…free to do so.”
He said the coalition continues to support the Peshmerga through training and the provision of equipment “to enable them to defeat Da’esh or to continue to defeat Da’esh.”
“They have made enormous success so far, but there is still more to do, and we will work together with them to achieve that.”
Indeed, Strickland recently visited the autonomous Kurdish region where he met with Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani to discuss the continuation of military support for the Kurdish troops.
Read More: PM Barzani discusses military support for Peshmerga with US-led coalition deputy commander
Meanwhile, at the same event in Baghdad, Jon Wilks, the British Ambassador to Iraq, told Kurdistan 24 that the United Kingdom, along with its allies, wants Erbil and Baghdad to reach “an agreement that is fair to both sides.”
Aside from the matters of joint security, oil revenues, the status of disputed territories, and the share of the federal budget are some of the outstanding issues between the regional and federal government.
“We support the idea of getting this agreement, and we will do what we can to create the right atmosphere to achieve it,” Wilks added.
Ties between Erbil and Baghdad have notably improved since the beginning of 2019, with the formation of a new federal government headed by Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abdul Mahdi, and regular delegation visits from both sides.
Editing by Karzan Sulaivany
(Additional reporting by Blesa Shaways)