PM Barzani: Baghdad ties improve, rights remain key

Shafaq News- Duhok (Updated on Oct. 6, 2026)

Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani said Monday that relations with Iraq’s new government were moving toward resolving more outstanding issues, stressing that the KRI's support for Baghdad depends on implementing the constitution and safeguarding the rights of the Kurdish people.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony at the University of Duhok, Barzani said that several outstanding issues with Baghdad had been resolved, while others still required further work. He added that the end of the Global Coalition’s military mission against ISIS would not end relations between the KRI and coalition countries, and those ties would instead take different forms.

Barzani thanked Coalition forces for supporting the Peshmerga in the fight against ISIS, emphasizing that the Kurdish force had fought the group in some of the conflict’s most difficult battles. “The presence of the Peshmerga forces represents a source of protection and security for the Kurdistan Region.”

Turning to the formation of a new government and the resumption of the Kurdistan Parliament’s work, Barzani said that the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) had called for parliament to convene and the government formation process to begin since the day after the elections.

Barzani affirmed that the KRG remained ready to cooperate with all political parties that won votes and secured representation in parliament to reactivate the legislature and form a new government.

He said that the government should reflect the election results, and his party, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), was prepared to make concessions in the interests of the people of the Kurdistan Region, as well as stability and reconstruction.