ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region Masrour Barzani on Wednesday stressed the need for the formation of a “comprehensive” cabinet “as soon as possible” in a meeting with British Ambassador to Iraq Stephen Hitchen in Erbil on Wednesday. 

 

“The Prime Minister reiterated that they do not have a veto against the participation of any side, and hoped a comprehensive, strong and united government to be formed based on the election results and votes of the political parties,” according to a readout from the Prime Minister’s media office. 

 

For his part, Hitchen commended the Kurdistan Region’s October 20 parliamentary elections as taking place in a “peaceful atmosphere” and congratulated “the success of the process."

 

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 winner, scoring over 400,000 votes more than its nearest competitor the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK). PM Barzani is also deputy head of the KDP.

The vote saw a significant turnout rate of 72 percent.

 

PM Barzani and Hitchen also discussed Iraq’s situation and “the difficult” escalations in the Middle East amid Israel’s war on Gaza and Lebanon.

 

Iraqi and Kurdish officials as well as international players have repeatedly warned that Iraq must not get entangled in any 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 a forum in Erbil last week.

 

In a phone call with Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani on Tuesday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken also stressed that Iraq should not be “drawn” into any regional wars. 

 

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.

 

As part of their meeting, PM Barzani and British Ambassador to Iraq Hitchen also touched upon Erbil-Baghdad relations including the provision of Kurdish civil servant salaries and a possible resumption of the Kurdish crude export to the international market that has been halted since March 2023.