President Barzani Hosts Foreign Diplomatic Representatives in Kurdistan

President Barzani today hosted foreign consuls and representatives of international organizations based in Erbil to discuss the latest political and economic developments in Kurdistan and in Iraq. In his remarks to this annual gathering, President Barzani shed light on a number of key issues facing Iraq and Kurdistan, particularly the ongoing crisis facing the political process in Iraq, tensions between Erbil and Baghdad, demonstrations in certain Iraqi provinces, and KRG plans to strengthen ties with the international community. “We greatly value your efforts and contributions in developing relations with the Kurdistan Region, and we are happy that there are now 26 consulate generals and foreign representations in Erbil,” said the President. On the recent crises facing Iraq, President Barzani said the cause of all these crises is lack of adherence to the Iraqi Constitution and violation of existing agreements, but reaffirmed his commitment to work with other Iraqi leaders to tackle both the Erbil-Baghdad issues and those concerning the question of governance as a whole in Iraq. “The main cause of these crises is non-commitment to the Iraqi Constitution. It is unfortunate to see an ongoing escalation of tensions in Iraq. Experience has demonstrated that Iraq can only be governed through partnership and genuine power-sharing. We are still committed to the Constitution and we believe that dialogue is only way to address the many serious challenges facing Iraq.” Regarding efforts to calm tensions between Erbil and Baghdad over the deployment of forces in Kirkuk, the President said: “Negotiations are on-going between military committees from both sides. We will resist the imposition of any solution on Kirkuk other than the implementation of Article 140 of the Constitution.” President Barzani said this is an election year for Kurdistan and the KRG is committed to ensuring successful elections are held later this year