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Iraqi Kurds urge their Syrian cousins to make peace with Damascus

Al-Monitor speaks with Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani about Iraqi Kurdistan's relationship with Baghdad, trade with Iran and why Turkey must negotiate with the PKK.
Kurdish region's Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani speaks during a news conference in Erbil, Iraq November 20, 2017. REUTERS/Azad Lashkari - RC15B0C57840
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ERBIL, Iraqi Kurdistan — It has been nearly a year and a half since the Iraqi Kurds held their referendum on independence. The fallout from the referendum, which faced stiff opposition from Baghdad, the United States, Turkey and Iran, has been devastating.

Iraqi forces have driven Kurdish forces out of the disputed territories, most notably the oil-rich province of Kirkuk. The Iraqi Kurds have yet to form a regional government since the September parliamentary elections, but they have reached an informal agreement to make Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani the new president of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, replacing his uncle Massoud Barzani, who stepped down after the referendum. Relations with Baghdad, Turkey and Iran are beginning to thaw, but problems remain. Meanwhile, the future of the Kurds in Syria hangs in the balance as the United States continues to flip flop on its Syria policy. 

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