Skip to main content
ALM Exclusive

'You don’t solve issues by running away,' says Iraq's KRG PM

Masrour Barzani, in an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, discusses the dispute with the rival PUK party; relations with the US and Iraq; China; and the KRG’s ambitious economic reform and climate policies. 
Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government Prime Minister Masrour Barzani (L) arrives at the Elysee Presidential Palace to meet with the French president, Paris, France, Feb. 16, 2023.

SALAHUDDIN — Masrour Barzani, prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Government of Iraq (KRG), says that political and economic disputes should be resolved within the KRG Council of Ministers, not by Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) ministers boycotting the government.  

“I hope they will eventually come back to the government,” said Barzani, who is a deputy president of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), in an exclusive and wide-ranging interview with Al-Monitor at his office in Salahuddin.  

Access the Middle East news and analysis you can trust

Join our community of Middle East readers to experience all of Al-Monitor, including 24/7 news, analyses, memos, reports and newsletters.

Subscribe

Only $100 per year.