rudaw.net/english | January 12-2018 |

VATICAN CITY — Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and Pope Francis have concluded their meeting at the Holy See on Friday.

kurdistan24.net/en/ | Sangar Ali | January 12-2018

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region (Kurdistan 24) – Belgium’s Defense Minister Steven Vandeput revealed that the Iraqi federal government blocked him from visiting Belgian troops in the semi-autonomous Kurdistan Region and asked Brussels to respond diplomatically.

Interview | By Rudaw | 10/01/2018

The referendum revealed a previously-existing Iraqi plot against the Kurdistan Region that led to devastating losses, but Kurds can still face a positive future if they now put aside political aspirations and are united, Masrour Barzani, national security advisor of the Kurdistan Region, said in an interview with Rudaw's Shaho Amin that aired Wednesday evening.

Explaining the discussions that went on behind the scenes in the lead up to Kurdistan’s independence referendum, Barzani argued that the US alternative proposed at the last minute was not sufficient because it offered no commitment, no firm timeframe, and no way to hold Baghdad to the agreement. 

“If someone is not prepared to show a commitment, then one should not take a letter as an alternative,” said Barzani, who is also a senior member of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). 

Despite the fallout from the referendum – economic, territorial, and emotional losses – Barzani maintains that holding the vote was the right choice. 

“We did not commit a crime,” he said, arguing that whether or not Kurdistan went ahead with the referendum, “Iraq never intended to accept the facts established by Kurds on the ground.”

Regarding the loss of Kirkuk, Barzani said he had not thought it possible that people could be so “depraved” to commit such a betrayal. He said the Iraqi forces only had the courage to march on the Kurdish forces when they realized there was disunity among the Kurds and some were willing to bring the Iraqis behind the Kurdish lines. 

Referring to violence and deaths in the disputed areas after October 16, Barzani said “The guilt of all this has to be carried by the Baghdad authority and the group of traitors of October 16,” who permitted Iraqi forces to take Kirkuk and other disputed areas. 

However, facing elections in both Iraq and the Kurdistan Region this year, Barzani believes that if Kurds are united, harmonious, and not driven by individual, political needs, then “a promising future awaits us.”

KRG Cabinet |

Erbil, Kurdistan Region, Iraq (cabinet.gov.krd) – In a statement for the Kurdistan Regional Government website, KRG Spokesperson Safeen Dizayee responded to the statements of Iraqi Prime Minister Mr. Haider al-Abadi during his Tuesday, January 2nd, press conference.

Bbc.com

Iran's Revolutionary Guards have warned anti-government protesters they will face the nation's "iron fist" if political unrest continues.

Iranwire.com | Shima Shahrabi 

The protests that started on Thursday, December 28 in Mashhad had, by Saturday, 30 December, reached Tehran. Since the aftermath of the disputed 2009 presidential election and the huge protests that followed, regime supporters have marked December 30 — the day when pro-government demonstrations were held as a counterpoint to the 2009 summer unrest — by organizing rallies against protesters who challenged the official results of the election that secured a second term for Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Washingtontimes.com | By Rachel Avraham

Iraq’s prime minister denies Kurds equal rights

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

In recent times, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi has been mistreating the Kurdish citizens in his country. It is time for this to come to an end.

Rudaw.net | By Ranj Sangawi

Iraqi Vice President Nouri al-Maliki told Rudaw during an interview in Baghdad on Thursday that the federal government has to help the Kurdistan Region to solve the problems it is facing including the ongoing financial crisis before “it is too late.”

Rudaw.net

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region — The International Monetary Fund believes Iraq's 2018 budget share proposals "do not suffice in our view to cover the needs of the Kurdistan Regional Government.” Baghdad’s proposal would slash the budget of the KRG by more than 4 percent.

rudaw.net |

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s Vice President Nouri al-Maliki strongly criticized French President Emmanuel Macron’s call on Baghdad for disbanding Shiite militia groups, chief among them Iran-backed Hashd al-Shaabi, saying Macron should not “meddle” in internal affairs of Iraq.