Barzani offers to help in fight against terrorism
The president of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, Massoud Barzani, is pessimistic about the outcome of the Geneva II conference.
BRUSSELS — President of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Massoud Barzani has said he is willing to help Baghdad fight against terrorism and warned the European parliament of the influence of extremist groups in Syria. He also suggested that a dialogue with Baghdad over oil deals will continue until a deal is reached.
Barzani spoke Jan. 21 at the Foreign Affairs Committee in Brussels, just before the Geneva II conference set to take place Jan. 22 in Switzerland.
“All we can say is we hope that the Syrian people decide their own fate [at Geneva II], far removed from terrorist influence,” Barzani said, while refraining from commenting on the situation of Syrian Kurds.
On Jan. 20, the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) declared its autonomous administration in Syria just ahead of the Geneva conference, after the international community failed to invite the PYD to Geneva II.
