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Barzani Agrees with Leader of International Coalition to Maintain Security in Iraq

President of the Kurdistan Region Nechervan Barzani receives Major General Joel B. Vowell in Erbil. (Kurdistan Region Presidency)
President of the Kurdistan Region Nechervan Barzani receives Major General Joel B. Vowell in Erbil. (Kurdistan Region Presidency)
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Barzani Agrees with Leader of International Coalition to Maintain Security in Iraq

President of the Kurdistan Region Nechervan Barzani receives Major General Joel B. Vowell in Erbil. (Kurdistan Region Presidency)
President of the Kurdistan Region Nechervan Barzani receives Major General Joel B. Vowell in Erbil. (Kurdistan Region Presidency)

President of the Kurdistan Region Nechervan Barzani received on Tuesday Major General Joel B. Vowell, commander of the Combined Joint Task Force-Operation Inherent Resolve of the Global Coalition in Iraq and Syria, to discuss terrorism and attacks by factions against coalition bases.

The visit came days after the federal government decided to form a bilateral committee to make arrangements for ending the mission of the US-led international coalition in the country.

According to a statement by the Kurdistan Region Presidency, the two officials discussed the recent drone strikes against coalition bases in Erbil and “emphasized the importance of safeguarding the Coalition Forces and diplomatic representatives in Iraq.”

Since the outbreak of the war in Gaza, pro-Iranian armed factions have launched dozens of attacks with drones and missiles on the locations of US forces in Iraq and Syria, in response to what they consider American support for Israel in the war.

Military bases operated by US forces in Iraq and Syria were targeted by around 100 armed attacks during the past three months, most of which were carried out by explosive drones.

The issue of ending the mission of the international coalition in Iraq has stirred heated debate in Iraq, especially the ruling pro-Iran Coordination Framework, which insists on the need to end the task of these forces.

Other forces believe it isn't in Iraq’s interest to lose the assistance provided by the US to the country.

In remarks to Asharq Al-Awsat, former Ambassador and Diplomat Ghazi Faisal ruled out the ability of the Iraqi government to end the coalition’s mission for a number of reasons.

“The pressure via text message on Washington does not express and is not consistent with the government’s constitutional and legal responsibilities and its duties in international and regional relations. [The government] is acting purely in a reactive manner without considering the national interest,” he stated.

Earlier this week, the government launched a survey by sending text messages to citizens, asking them if they oppose or support the deployment of the international forces.

The presence of US forces in Iraq is based on an agreement that allows them to work within the framework of the mission of the international coalition to eliminate ISIS. But the Iraqi government says that its forces have “become capable” of protecting the country.

The US Department of Defense said on Monday it does not currently plan to pull out its forces, numbering about 2,500 soldiers, from the country.

“Right now, I’m not aware of any plans (for withdrawal). We continue to remain very focused on the defeat ISIS mission,” US Air Force Major General Patrick Ryder told a news briefing.

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Cyprus Can Help Rid Syria of Chemical Weapons, Search for its Missing, Says Top Diplomat

FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
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Cyprus Can Help Rid Syria of Chemical Weapons, Search for its Missing, Says Top Diplomat

FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah
FILE PHOTO: A UN chemical weapons expert, wearing a gas mask, holds a plastic bag containing samples from one of the sites of an alleged chemical weapons attack in the Ain Tarma neighborhood of Damascus August 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Abdullah

Cyprus stands ready to help eliminate Syria’s remaining chemical weapons stockpiles and to support a search for people whose fate remains unknown after more than a decade of war, the top Cypriot diplomat said Saturday.

Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos said Cyprus’ offer is grounded on its own past experience both with helping rid Syria of chemical weapons 11 years ago and its own ongoing, decades-old search for hundreds of people who disappeared amid fighting between Greek Cypriot and Turkish Cypriots in the 1960s and a 1974 Turkish invasion, The AP reported.

Cyprus in 2013 hosted the support base of a mission jointly run by the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to remove and dispose of Syria's chemical weapons.

“As a neighboring country located just 65 miles from Syria, Cyprus has a vested interest in Syria’s future. Developments there will directly impact Cyprus, particularly in terms of potential new migratory flows and the risks of terrorism and extremism,” Kombos told The AP in written replies to questions.

Kombos said there are “profound concerns” among his counterparts across the region over Syria’s future security, especially regarding a possible resurgence of extremist groups like ISIS in a fragmented and polarized society.

“This is particularly critical in light of potential social and demographic engineering disguised as “security” arrangements, which could further destabilize the country,” Kombos said.

The diplomat also pointed to the recent proliferation of narcotics production like the stimulant Captagon that is interconnected with smuggling networks involved in people and arms trafficking.

Kombos said ongoing attacks against Syria’s Kurds must stop immediately, given the role that Kurdish forces have played in combating extremist forces like the ISIS group in the past decade.

Saleh Muslim, a member of the Kurdish Presidential Council, said in an interview that the Kurds primarily seek “equality” enshrined in rights accorded to all in any democracy.

He said a future form of governance could accord autonomy to the Kurds under some kind of federal structure.

“But the important thing is to have democratic rights for all the Syrians and including the Kurdish people,” he said.

Muslim warned that the Kurdish-majority city of Kobani, near Syria’s border with Türkiye, is in “very big danger” of falling into the hands of Turkish-backed forces, and accused Türkiye of trying to occupy it.

Kombos said the international community needs to ensure that the influence Türkiye is trying to exert in Syria is “not going to create an even worse situation than there already is.”

“Whatever the future landscape in Syria, it will have a direct and far-reaching impact on the region, the European Union and the broader international community,” Kombos said.