Kurdistan denies agreement with Baghdad over deploying joint troops at disputed regions
Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani
During a press conference in Erbil on Tuesday, Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani said, “there are no agreements between Erbil and Baghdad over deploying joint troops at the disputed regions under U.S. sponsorship.”
Barzani expressed concerns regarding the situation at the disputed regions, stressing necessity to deploy joint forces there “fearing this situation could affect the security of Kurdistan.”
Barzani also denied plans for any official visits at the meantime. “I heard in the media that a delegation from Kurdistan will visit Baghdad, but there is no plans or official decisions about this.”
He also added that “exchanging delegations between Baghdad and Erbil is normal as dialogues require this.”
Iraqi government forces approached the southern borders of Erbil, capital of semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region, after taking over Kirkuk province from Kurdish Peshmerga fighters in October, fulfilling instructions made by the Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi to retake areas where sovereignty is disputed with Kurdistan.
Baghdad had declared intentions to retake areas disputed on with Erbil following the Kurdistan Region’s vote for ts independence referendum on September 25, from Iraq, urging Peshmerga to cooperate with federal troops.
The disputed regions has been one of the main conflict issues between Baghdad and Erbil for 14 years. The area of those regions reach around 37 square kilometers.