Iraqi PM Visits Erbil, Opening New Chapter in Relations

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (R) shakes hands with Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani in Erbil. (Masrour Barzani on Twitter)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (R) shakes hands with Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani in Erbil. (Masrour Barzani on Twitter)
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Iraqi PM Visits Erbil, Opening New Chapter in Relations

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (R) shakes hands with Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani in Erbil. (Masrour Barzani on Twitter)
Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (R) shakes hands with Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani in Erbil. (Masrour Barzani on Twitter)

Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani kicked off on Tuesday a visit to the Kurdistan Region, his first since assuming his post in October.

He met with Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, head of the Kurdistan Democratic Party and former Kurdistan President Masoud Barzani, and several senior officials.

Sudani is accompanied by a delegation that includes the ministers of foreign affairs, interior, planning, and migration and the displaced, deputy prime minister, secretary of the national security agency and several advisors.

After meeting Masoud Barzani, Sudani’s office said the PM underlined his “government’s keenness on reaching out to all political forces and achieving more understandings.”

For his part, Masoud Barzani welcomed the visit, expressing his support to Sudani’s government agenda, especially regarding articles on improving the Iraqi economy.

After meeting PM Barzani, Sudani praised the “spirit of collective work and cooperation and the sincere desire to resolve all differences between Baghdad and Erbil.”

He remarked that during the four months that his government has been in office “it has made strides in carrying out part of the political agreement” reached with Kurdistan.

He underscored keenness to resolve disputes and move on to “broader horizons of joint work and economic opportunities that would benefit our people in Kurdistan and all provinces.”

For his part, Masrour Barzani tweeted: “The PM's goodwill is recognized and important to restoring trust. The federal budget bill and progress on oil and gas give us stakes in our finances and lay foundations for deeper ties.”

Sudani had announced on Monday that an agreement was reached to resolve oil and gas disputes between Baghdad and Erbil. The agreement calls for depositing Kurdistan’s oil and gas revenues in one bank account, which the Iraqi and Kurdish prime ministers have access to.

Relations between the federal government in Baghdad and Kurdistan have been fraught with tensions for years. They have differences over disputed regions and the implementation of article 144 of the constitution related to the Kirkuk province.

Even though most of the disputes have remained unresolved and appear unlikely to be resolved any time soon, relations between Baghdad and Erbil were not always strained. Some observers have noted that ties between Erbil and the former Iraqi government of PM Mustafa al-Kadhimi were good.



Abbas Urges Hamas to Stop Giving Israel ‘Excuses’ in Gaza

A camp for internally displaced Palestinians, which was set up by the HHO Foundation in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 08 April 2025. (EPA)
A camp for internally displaced Palestinians, which was set up by the HHO Foundation in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 08 April 2025. (EPA)
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Abbas Urges Hamas to Stop Giving Israel ‘Excuses’ in Gaza

A camp for internally displaced Palestinians, which was set up by the HHO Foundation in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 08 April 2025. (EPA)
A camp for internally displaced Palestinians, which was set up by the HHO Foundation in the Jabalia refugee camp, northern Gaza Strip, 08 April 2025. (EPA)

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas called on the Hamas group Tuesday to stop giving Israel "excuses" to keep up its devastating offensive in Gaza.

Israel resumed major strikes on the Gaza Strip on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire with Hamas. The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza said Tuesday that 58 people had been killed in the previous 24 hours.

In a statement, the Ramallah-based Palestinian presidency called on Hamas to "cease making any irresponsible decisions to spare our people the consequences of (the Israeli) aggression".

The statement pointed to the Israeli hostages still held in Gaza. "Stop giving the occupation any excuses to continue its genocide," it said.

It called on Hamas, which has ruled Gaza since 2007, to "adhere to the official Palestinian position and the Arab initiatives".

French President Emmanuel Macron met with King Abdullah II of Jordan and President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi of Egypt in Cairo Monday, where they called for Abbas's Palestinian Authority to rule Gaza after a ceasefire, and for Hamas to have no role in post-war governance.

The Palestinian Authority is dominated by Abbas's Fatah movement, Hamas's longtime rival.

At their Cairo meeting, the three leaders called for an "immediate return" to the two-month ceasefire that effectively ended in March.

In its statement, the Palestinian presidency also denounced a newly established Israeli corridor in south Gaza as a violation of international law.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the creation of the Morag axis between the south Gaza cities of Khan Younis and Rafah last week.

He presented the axis as a new Philadelphi Corridor, a strip of land along the Palestinian side of the border with Egypt that the Israeli army has already cleared of buildings.

Witnesses told AFP Tuesday that Israeli forces were present on the axis, and had set up a surveillance crane equipped with a machine gun at one of its crossroads.