President of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region Nechirvan Barzani visited Baghdad to discuss the outstanding issues, including the importance of strengthening the border security of the Region and Iraq, in light of repeated attacks from neighbors Iran and Türkiye.
Barzani’s visit to Baghdad - his second in a week - sought to “complete the agenda of meetings with Iraqi political leaders,” a statement by the Region’s presidency said on Sunday.
According to the statement, Barzani had canceled the second day of his visit to Baghdad last week to attend the funeral of victims that lost their lives following a gas explosion in Duhok on Monday night.
“Barzani is scheduled to complete the visit to Baghdad and hold a series of meetings with a number of other leaders and senior Iraqi officials,” the statement clarified.
An official government source revealed that “Baghdad and Erbil agreed to form a joint security committee which would discuss all files with the Iranian and Turkish sides.”
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani is set to visit Tehran on Tuesday.
Barzani and the Iraqi National Security Advisor Qasim Al-Araji discussed the security and political situation in the country, the source told Asharq Al-Awsat.
“Barzani, during his meeting with Al-Araji, showed great flexibility in authorizing Baghdad to form a higher committee,” they added.
“In all its meetings, the Region confirms with Iraqi leaders that it is part of Iraq, and therefore it requests a position from Baghdad regarding the attacks it is being subjected to,” said the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Moreover, the source pointed out that the Kurdistan region supports any step taken by Baghdad towards the Turkish and Iranian opposition so long that it is based on the Iraqi constitution. This was affirmed by Barzani during his meeting with Al-Araji.
The Iraqi constitution prohibits Iraq from being used as a corridor or a springboard for aggression against any of its neighboring countries.
