President Barzani receives new Swedish Ambassador to Iraq

Kurdistan Region President Massoud Barzani received Sweden’s new Ambassador to Iraq, Ms Annika Molin Hellgren at a meeting on Tuesday for talks on bilateral relations and current political developments.

At the meeting, Ambassador Hellgren praised the level of historical ties between the two sides, expressing military and humanitarian support toward the Kurdistan Region and stressing her country appreciates the commitment of Peshmerga forces in their fight against terrorism.

President Barzani discussed the current situation in Iraq and Kurdistan Region, focusing on the war against terror organisation Islamic State, the financial crisis which the region faces, the presence of hundreds of thousands of refugees and internally displaced people, IDPs, who took refuge in the Region and the relations between Kurdistan Regional Government, KRG, and the Iraqi Federal Government.

He also expressed thanks toward the Swedish government for their support in Kurdistan’s plight and wished the new Ambassador success in her role.

On the sidelines of the meeting, President Barzani talked about the reality of the battlefronts in Mosul and the stages that will follow in liberating Mosul. He stressed that cooperation and joint-military action between Russia and the alliance in the war against IS and finding political solutions on the future of Syria would lead to positive and important results.

In another aspect of the meeting, the two sides discussed the recent turmoil in southern Kurdistan amid a wave of violent protests against President Barzani in opposition strongholds, which Kurdish Democratic Party (KDP) accuses Gorran of fomenting.