KRG supports Baghdad’s decision on US troop pullout from Iraq

The President of Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, Nechirvan Barzani, says the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) supports a decision made by the central government in Baghdad concerning the withdrawal of US military forces from the country.

According to Press TV, speaking in a meeting with Iraq’s caretaker Prime Minister Adel Abdul-Mahdi in Erbil on Saturday, Barzani highlighted that the KRG throws its weight behind any decision taken by Baghdad, and that Kurdish officials back the resolution passed by Iraqi lawmakers that calls for the expulsion of foreign forces.

The Iraqi MPs approved the resolution after the United States assassinated Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, the Commander of the Quds Force of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), and the Second-in-Command of Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, in an airstrike near Baghdad International Airport.

Abdul-Mahdi and Barzani also discussed the latest developments in Iraq, tensions between the United States and Iran, and the ongoing anti-government protests in the Arab country.

Abdul-Mahdi said there is “a good opportunity” to resolve issues between the Baghdad government and the KRG with “determination and serious will.”

Late on Thursday, the Iraqi caretaker prime minister called on the United States to dispatch a delegation to Baghdad tasked with formulating a mechanism for the withdrawal of US troops from the country.

According to a statement released by the Iraqi premier’s office, Abdul-Mahdi “requested that delegates be sent to Iraq to set the mechanisms to implement the parliament's decision for the secure withdrawal of (foreign) forces from Iraq” in a phone call with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

ME