President Barzani “I would like the weapons to arrive directly to the Peshmerga. The important thing is to receive them quickly. I have talked about this with the United States, and they have guaranteed we will receive them quickly.”

FRANCE 24: Hello, and welcome to the interview here on France 24. Our guest today is Masoud Barzani who is the President of the Kurdistan of Iraq. Mr President, thank you very much for being with us. We are obviously going to talk about the very volatile situation in Iraq. Several weeks ago, there was a lot of talk that Mosul would be taken from the organisation of the Islamic state, ISIS, but now ISIS has taken control of Ramadi and is on the move. How can you explain the set-back for the Iraqi forces?

President Barzani: For us, ISIS is losing ground on the Kurdish front. What happened in Ramadi, in the Anbar region, what happened surprised me very much but we are prepared to recover Mosul very quickly to liberate it from ISIS. The city of Mosul must not wait for its liberation too long. We must accelerate things as quickly as possible.

FRANCE 24: Because it reminds us what happened in Ramadi seems to be the same thing that happened in Mosul. Suddenly, the Iraqi forces disappeared, I mean what is your assessment, you have fought many wars, you know about Military stuff. Can you explain what you think really happened in Ramadi?

President Barzani: For me it was a great surprise what happened in the Anbar region because ISIS didn't have the strength to recover a city so close to Baghdad. The Iraqi army must carry out an investigation, I don't know.

FRANCE 24: What about ISIS, is it becoming more of a threat for your region Kurdistan, now, I mean obviously them being in Mosul, you've said it many times is a direct threat to Kurdistan but the fact that their extending both in Iraq and Syria, is it getting even more of a threat to you?

President Barzani: ISIS for us represents a threat and a threat for everybody. They have won a few battles recently that I'm sure, in time, ISIS will lose to the Peshmerga.

FRANCE 24: You mentioned ISIS is seizing weapons from the Iraqi army and from the Syrian army. Are they getting weapons from other countries, I mean everyone has been surprised by the heavy weaponry they have. From your assessment, are they getting weapons from abroad?

President Barzani: Yes, they have recovered a lot of weapons from Iraq and Syria; there are a lot of weapons from outside, also.

FRANCE 24: Who is giving them weapons from abroad?

President Barzani: I don't know.

FRANCE 24: You went to the United States recently and you've wanted direct weapon delivery from the United States, you say you have guarantees that the central government in Baghdad will give you the weapons you are asking for. Why are you so sure that it will happen? In the past, the central government has not delivered those weapons. Why suddenly are you saying you are more confident that they will do so?

President Barzani: Yes, I'd like the weapons to arrive directly to the Peshmerga. The important thing is to receive them quickly. I have talked about this to the United States and they have guaranteed we will receive them quickly.  

FRANCE 24: Are you disappointed because the West are saying “we are going to help the Kurds, we are going to help the Kurds” but you said to me last time we met that the promises were not becoming reality, that you were not getting enough weapons enough sophisticated weapons, is this still the case today for Kurdistan?

President Barzani: Personally, I'd like to thank the coalition for the air strikes, it was important to win certain battles. The fighting on the ground, they have provided us with major support. But, in truth, all the weapons that can protect the Peshmergas and enable us to win, we still do not have them.

FRANCE 24: You struck a deal, the Kurdistan region and the central government in Baghdad back in December, whereby you would send 500 to 5000 barrels of oil per day, in exchange for the central government giving you the share of the budget, the 17% Kurdistan is supposed to get, is this happening?

President Barzani: Yes, there has been an agreement, but it has not been fully applied. We hope that the agreement will be applied, but if not there are other options.

FRANCE 24: Meaning sending oil abroad?

President Barzani: There are other possibilities.

FRANCE 24: So, this begs the question if the central government does not give you the money, how can you trust them to give you the weapons?

President Barzani: The Americans have guaranteed that they will deliver weapons but the problem exists between the central government and the Regional Government of Kurdistan, we'll see what happens.

FRANCE 24: Just, more broadly, all that ISIS is creating on the ground in Syria and Iraq, maybe not the way that you had envisioned, does this mean the end of Syria and Iraq as we know it today that it's never going to be the same again?

President Barzani: Undoubtedly, Syria and Iraq will not remain as before.

FRANCE 24: Does this mean that as a result of maybe all this calls for an independent Kurdistan that you've been campaigning for so many years could happen in the next 5 years, let's say?

President Barzani: Yes, it is quite possible.

FRANCE 24: You still want to push for the independence now or you think the first priority is to defeat ISIS once and for all?

President Barzani: Yes. No event can stop the march of independence but our goal is the war against ISIS.

FRANCE 24: And are you concerned that the strategy of the US that the Iraqi government to fight ISIS is the wrong one that all what we're seeing now proves it is not working and that ISIS instead of being defeated could become a reality for a long time?

President Barzani: Yes. The Americans have said they will never send troops on the ground but the air strikes are so effective for us and it is up to the regional forces to fight against ISIS. Europe and America must only help us. The US and Europe cannot fight in Syria and Iraq, it would not be logical.

FRANCE 24: Would you want to send regional powers boots on the ground maybe in Iraq to defeat ISIS, to help the Iraqi army and maybe avoid that militias will start fighting instead of the Iraqi army?

President Barzani: It is not a problem for us; it is between Washington and Baghdad.

FRANCE 24: For you this is the solution for Arab countries to act militarily like maybe they are trying to do in Yemen to do the same in Iraq to defeat ISIS?

President Barzani: Each country must settle its internal problems by settling our problems ourselves. ISIS has to be beaten of course. If Iraq settles its domestic problems, ISIS will disappear much more quickly.

FRANCE 24: Last question, many people are saying Iran has never had much influence even as much military presence in Iraq, are you concerned that Iran is more present than ever in Iraq and that according to some it is playing a negative role?

President Barzani: Yes, there is no doubt Iran has a lot of influence on Iraq more than any other country.

FRANCE 24: Are you worried about that?

President Barzani: It is quite clear but we in our regions do not accept other influences or forces.

FRANCE 24: OK, President Barzani thank you very much for answering our questions.

President Barzani: Thank you

FRANCE 24: Thank you for watching this interview here on France 24

http://www.france24.com/en/20150525-the-interview-masoud-barzani-iraq-kurdistan-islamic-state-group