ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Masrour Barzani received US Ambassador to Iraq Alina Romanowski on Monday in Erbil, discussing regional conflicts and the need to swiftly form the next Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) cabinet following the elections.

“We agreed on the importance of a new cabinet to continue to advance the agenda to serves all citizens and communities in the Kurdistan Region,” read a statement from Prime Minister Barzani’s office on the meeting with Romanowski.

“I emphasized that the parties' votes and shares should determine a new government configuration and lead to a government that is inclusive, strong and unified,” he added.

The Kurdistan Region held parliamentary elections on October 20, following a two-year delay, in which the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) emerged as the clear victor, scoring over 400,000 votes more than its nearest competitor the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK).

The vote saw a significant turnout rate of 72 percent.

Barzani and Romanowski also discussed the ongoing conflicts in the Middle East, emphasizing the need to safeguard Iraq and the Kurdistan Region from the consequences of the conflict.

Speaking at a forum in Erbil on Wednesday, the Kurdish premier stated that they do not want Iraq and the Kurdistan Region to become a part of the regional conflicts,

"We don't think Iraq and its people deserve to be involved in a war that does not serve their interests… I think the people of Iraq, with all its components, are tired of continuous cycles of war” said the Kurdish premier at the event.

The Islamic Resistance in Iraq, an umbrella group of Iran-backed Iraqi militias, has carried out hundreds of strikes against Israeli and American interests in Iraq, Syria, Jordan, and Israel for nearly a year in protest of the war on Gaza.

The group has intensified its attacks on Israeli territories in recent weeks following the killing of several “Axis of Resistance” leaders and the Israeli military’s ongoing attacks on Lebanon.

Israeli media have recently reported that the military is considering a response to the militias in Iraq.

Despite voicing strong support for Iran and resistance groups in the region and repeated condemnation of Israel’s actions, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani in October said that “the decision of war and peace” was in the hands of the government, warning “anyone who deviates from that will face the state,” likely referring to the armed groups.