President Barzani's interview with Sky News Arabia Channel

On November 26, 2024, Sky News Arabic conducted an exclusive interview with President Barzani and asked him several important questions.

During the meeting, several important issues were raised and answered by President Barzani, including the internal issues of the Kurdistan Region, the formation of the new cabinet of the Kurdistan Regional Government, the state of relations between the Kurdistan Region and Iraq, security issues, and the risks of uncertainty and conflict in Iraq and the region.

Here is the text of the interview:

Sky News: First, we would like to congratulate you on the victory of the Kurdistan Region elections, in which the turnout exceeded 70%. The important question is about the next stage, what will be the nature of the next government of the Kurdistan Region?

President Barzani: Many people thought that the elections would not be held at all. If they were held, they would cause many problems. Thank God, the elections were held in a peaceful atmosphere and without any problems. In fact, the Kurdish people raised our heads.

Sky News: Your head is always high, but the question to our Excellency is that the relationship between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) has seen ups and downs. Will these differences continue?

President Barzani: We were waiting for the Election Commission to announce the results. From today, we have a delegation, a special committee to contact all these parties, including the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, to work on the next steps, the first step is for the parliament to meet, after the meeting of the parliament, other steps will follow.

The legal requirement is that the parliament should convene within 10 days of the formal announcement of the results. The committee will visit all the parties, including the PUK, to hold the first session of parliament. We consult with everyone, we do not have a veto on anyone, but there is a very important point that the elections were held, and the results are clear and we rely on the outcome of the elections.

Sky News: In the framework of the meeting of the KDP delegation with the PUK, some say that the PUK has conditions and wants to impose them, including that the KDP should not have a candidate for the presidencies?

President Barzani: These posts are election entitlements. We will not accept anyone to impose conditions on us. We will not impose conditions on anyone. We just must be very clear that we want (one Region, one Parliament, one Government and a Unified Peshmerga Force).

Sky News: You talked about one Region, one Parliament, one Government and one Peshmerga Force. On the issue of the unification of the Peshmerga Force, where do you stand? Is there a compromise by the two main parties for this purpose?

President Barzani: The issue is not about compromise. It is an ongoing program. The Peshmerga Ministry is responsible for this program in coordination with experts and advisors of the international coalition. The process continues and a large part of the Peshmerga forces have been unified.

Sky News: Let's say the conflict between the PUK and KDP, will this conflict affect the Kurdistan Region to get what it deserves?

President Barzani: No conflict will lead to any results in the interest of the country and the Region, but we will work to eliminate all these conflicts and resolve all the disputes and problems. After all, the elections have been held and the results are clear. We must abide by the election results.

Sky News: The most important question is about the writing of the Kurdistan constitution. When will the constitution be written?

President Barzani: The draft is almost ready and only a few articles remain. I think we will be able to reach a final draft of the constitution in a short time. Considerable work has been done on writing the constitution years ago.

Sky News: Does the main parties in Kurdistan need to offer compromises to reach a final draft of the constitution?

President Barzani: If this is in the interest of the Region, why not? it can be done.

Sky News: The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) had some reservations about the recent population census in Iraq. I want to ask about Kirkuk and the disputed areas.

President Barzani: We have been assured that this census has nothing to do with the disputed areas and areas outside the Kurdistan Region. There were uncertainties before. After consultation and follow-up with our brothers in Baghdad, no uncertainties remained.

Sky News: Does President Masoud Barzani feel the loss of the late President Jalal Talabani in the political arena?

President Barzani: Yes, it is clear that the death of the late Jalal Talabani left a vacuum in the PUK.

Sky News: I want to move from the internal situation in Kurdistan to the relationship with the federal government. You visited Baghdad in July 2024 after a six-year boycott. What was the result of that visit?

President Barzani: As you said, the visit came after six years. It broke the mental barrier that existed, and we agreed on a roadmap to resolve the issues as much as possible. Of course, the committee continues to work, and the visit created a positive atmosphere in Baghdad and Erbil. There is an opening in relations between Baghdad and Erbil, there are good relations between the Prime Minister and the Federal Prime Minister, but the truth is that there are still problems waiting to be resolved, there is progress, but there are still problems.

Sky News: Does the Kurdistan Democratic Party think that these problems can be solved? Does the roadmap lead to conflict resolution?

President Barzani: Yes, there is no conflict without resolution. If there is intention and will, of course, we can resolve these issues as easily as possible. I think there is that intention.

Sky News: How do you deal with some parties in Baghdad trying to limit the powers of the Kurdistan Region and take over some constitutional powers?

President Barzani: Yes, we have suffered from this direction and intention. We have a constitution; the 2005 federal constitution is the arbitrator. We reject any decision of the federal authorities that is contrary to the constitution. There is a clause or article in the constitution that says that if a federal decision conflicts with the decisions of the Region on issues related to the Region, the decision of the Region will prevail.

Sky News: We know that there has always been a dispute between the federal government and the Kurdistan Regional Government on the oil issue, Sudani said that the federal oil and gas law will be applied to oil and gas production in Iraq and the Kurdistan Region. Where Baghdad and Erbil stand on the oil and gas?

President Barzani: When the constitution was drafted in 2005, there were two articles, Article 110 and Article 111, which state that oil and gas belong to the entire Iraqi people and there is no dispute over it and it will be distributed fairly to all Iraqis. I think it is Article 112, which says that the fields that used to extract oil in the past will be managed by the federal government with the KRG, but the fields that are new will be managed by the KRG with the federal government.

Sky News: Who is complicating the issue to reach an understanding between the two governments?

President Barzani: To be frank, there were some people in Baghdad who did not believe in these constitutional articles and wanted to marginalize the region. This was the reason. There is now progress in the negotiations and I think that when parliament holds a session for this purpose, we hope that this issue will pass.

Sky News: If we talk about the Iraqi parliament, according to the budget laws passed by the parliament, the Kurdistan Region had a share of 12.6%. Is Baghdad committed and will the new population census change the share of the Kurdistan Region?

President Barzani: The new population census should change this. The fact is that 12% is an unfair share. However, the Kurdistan Region accepted that share, but it was not given to the Region as written.

Sky News: How is the Region trying to achieve the entitlements outlined in the law?

President Barzani: The truth is that this is a problem that will continue between Baghdad and Erbil. There is no strict adherence to the agreements and the constitution.

Sky News: You have always played a role in unifying the Sunni discourse. What was the role of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) led by President Masoud Barzani in the election of the speaker of the House of Representatives?

President Barzani: We have good relations with both our Sunni and Shiite brothers. After the fall of the regime in 2003, the Sunni brothers faced a new situation that they did not accept. I tried hard with them. Now they understand that if they had accepted the proposals, I made to them then, the situation would have changed.

During my visit to Baghdad, I met with all the Sunni brothers and asked them, even the Shiite brothers, to try to agree on a single candidate to represent the Sunnis for the presidency of parliament The fact that the post remained vacant for that long and might have remained vacant for the foreseeable future, It is neither in the interest of Iraq in general nor in the interest of the Sunnis, so it was agreed to elect Dr. Mahmoud Mashhadani for a year.

Sky News: With the state administration coalition, have you talked about holding early parliamentary elections in Baghdad? which is on the special agenda of the government of Mohammed Shia Sudani. Is it possible to hold early elections?

President Barzani: I think this is unlikely. The deadline for holding the next election is October 2025.

Sky News: What does it mean that Mohammed Shia Sudani does not adhere to his government's agenda? Does this give him a chance to run for the post again?

President Barzani: In fact, he has the right to run for another term. The program was the program of the parties in the coalition, not the program of the government alone. The government implements the programs. There is no need for early elections. There is less than a year left, about 11 months. Why should we hold early elections?

Sky News: There are reports that the political arena in Iraq is marked by the absence of Mr. Sadr. Can we see an initiative from you to bring Mr. Sadr back to the political arena?

President Barzani: I did not wish the Sadr Movement to withdraw from the political process before. I hope the Sadr Movement will return to the process because there is a gap in practice.

Sky News: Will Masoud Barzani take the initiative to bring Mr. Sadr back?

President Barzani: If I know that this initiative will have results, I will take the initiative.

Sky News: What is your opinion about the Iraqi parliamentary elections, which are constantly changing the electoral law with each election term, which will lead to the eradication of independents and small parties?

President Barzani: Unfortunately, this has become a flawed issue. Every election has a new law. Even people are confused between all these laws. Let's stick to one law. We're tired of all these games.

Sky News: I want to move on to the Kurdistan Region's foreign relations. Why do observers believe that Baghdad has become a strong arena to end the case of the Iranian opposition in the Kurdistan Region, to the extent that it sees itself as removing them from the borders, while some say that Baghdad overlooks the issue of Turkish opposition and doesn’t formulate any initiative to end the issue and end Turkey's incursions into Iraq?

President Barzani: There is a big difference between the Iranian Kurdish opposition and the Turkish opposition, or the PKK, because there is no other opposition. The Iranian Kurdish opposition came to Iraq fifty years ago, almost, since the beginning of the Iraq-Iran war, which is forty or fifty years ago. They have not interfered in the internal affairs of the Kurdistan Region and have respected the laws of the Region. They used to have some simple headquarters on the border. The Iranians saw this as a threat to their security. A tripartite agreement was reached between the Kurdistan Region, Baghdad and the Iranians that these units could be removed from the border and the problem could end. In practice, when we spoke to the Democratic Party of Iran, Komala and others, they accepted it generously and acted with great responsibility. They withdrew from the border and the problem ended.

But as far as Turkey is concerned, the PKK considers itself the ruler of the Region, they don't care about the Region, they don't recognize the Region, and they don't do what the Region asks them to do. If the PKK behaves as if it were the Iranian Kurdish opposition, the problem with Turkey will be over within 24 hours.

Sky News: I want to ask you about the region's relations with its eastern neighbour (Iran) and Turkey and what is the relationship with the two sides now and what will the future look like?

President Barzani: Both are neighbours of the Region, we have a border with Turkey for about 300 kilometres and also with Iran for 500 kilometres. Iran is an important country in the region, and Turkey is also an important country in the region, and it is not in our interest at all that there is concerns in our relations or that those relations are abnormal. Now the relationship is going in a better direction, there's a good understanding, and now I can say that our relationship with both parties is normal.

Sky News: It has always been thought that the KDP's relationship with the Turkish side is excellent, but now there is talk of a greater rapprochement with the Iranian side, so that Erbil can play a mediating and calming role with the American side in the new administration of Donald Trump.

President Barzani: The truth is that we have never had a plan or intention to have bad relations with Iran or Turkey, but we have a firm principle that we will never give it up, no matter what the cost may be, and that is that we will not allow anyone to interfere in our affairs and decisions.

Sky news: How willing are you to deal with President Donald Trump's administration?

President Barzani: We don't have anything direct or specific with the president-elect's administration, but we expect that there will be a change in the situation in general for the Middle East and for the world as well. Therefore, we will have to wait until the authority is handed over.

Sky News: Donald Trump's comments, especially in the selection of his presidential advisers, may be an indication of what Donald Trump will look like.

President Barzani: That's right, I think (of course, this is analysis, not information), maybe at first, they will propose a peaceful solution, they will look for a peaceful solution, and if it succeeds, they will pursue it, and if it doesn't, I think they will harden their position and there will be a lot of tension.

Sky News: But now the Middle East is witnessing a kind of war that may change the map of the region, and this may be certain, how does His Excellency President Masoud Barzani view the Middle East and in what direction is the region headed?

President Barzani: of course the region as we see is overburdened with wars. There are wars, problems and conflicts. We hope that all these problems will come to an end and all parties will resort to dialogue and seek a peaceful solution as war will not solve anything. If war is for the sake of peace, they are welcome but war for the sake of war، killing for the sake of killing is maddens, all parties must resort to peaceful solutions.

Sky News: There are some efforts by some parties to drag Iraq into this regional war, who is benefiting from this? How has Iraq been able to avoid any tense scenarios so far?

President Barzani: The wise and the sensible have played a role in Baghdad, and so has the prime minister, and we have helped them as much as we can. It is in no way in the interest of Iraq to be dragged into this war. I don't know who the beneficiary is, but the first casualty is Iraq. The benefits may be many, but the biggest loser is Iraq.

Sky News: That may be the important question, some of the parties inside Iraq are using Iraqi territory, and what benefits do they get?

President Barzani: There is no benefit other than a great loss to Iraq, there is no benefit behind these actions.

Sky News: There is talk of the possibility of a U.S. troop withdrawal that is said to be by the end of 2026. Are the Kurdistan Region and the Kurds concerned about this issue and the resurgence of ISIS?

President Barzani: It's a fact that can't be denied، ISIS is still a threat and it's a serious threat, and frankly, if the coalition forces withdraw before the Iraqi forces are ready as well as the Peshmerga forces, ISIS may come back as it did in 2014 and may be in a stronger way. ISIS is not over, and it is still a serious threat, and without the support of the coalition, we will not be able to achieve such a victory over ISIS.

Sky News: The Iraqi security forces, the Iraqi army and the Peshmerga have been trained recently, aren't they ready at this time to protect Iraq and the Region?

President Barzani: Training and preparation require capabilities and equipment, Iraq does not have it now, it may have simple equipment, but the air defence system in Iraq is either very weak or non-existent. Even if there is training, without a defence system, how can aircrafts or missiles be intercepted? So, the real power is lacking.

Sky News: I would like to conclude with this question: What is the relationship between the Kurdistan Region and the Gulf countries and especially the United Arab Emirates؟

President Barzani: First of all, I would like to send my greetings to the leadership of the United Arab Emirates and the leadership of the Gulf countries in general, the relationship is excellent, and I would like to thank the leadership of the United Arab Emirates and the State of Kuwait, His Majesty King Salman and the Crown Prince, for the assistance they provided during the period when we were attacked by ISIS. Our relationship has been fantastic.