PM Barzani Says US Forces Should Stay in the Region

The US forces are needed in Iraq and the region to fight the Islamic State (IS), Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said on Friday.

The Kurdsh premier made the remarks during a meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference in Germany.

Among other topics during the meeting, the pair exchanged views on the presence of the US troops in the region, Barzani said in a statement on his Twitter account.

"At MSC2020 @SecPompeo and I agreed that US forces should remain in the region," Barzani said. "Our American allies are a vital part of the Global Coalition in the fight to defeat ISIS once and for all."

Barzani is leading a high-level delegation from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to attend the annual conference in Munich.