Kurdistan keen on boosting ties with Iran within international law: PM
Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani
Erbil (IraqiNews.com) Iraqi Kurdistan is eager to further strengthen ties with Iran, its prime minister, Nechirvan Barzani, said Tuesday as Tehran remains anxious to maintain influence with post-Islamic State Iraq.
Kurdish network Rudaw quoted the prime minister saying, in a press conference in Erbil with Iranian Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif, that “Developing ties with Iran is something in which we are continually engaged and we will certainly do our best to further strengthen these ties within the framework of international law”. He added that “we have relations of fraternity and friendship with Iran which had always extended a helping hand
The network quoted Zarif saying during the conference that “we have a common history with Kurds, and no one can cut relations between us because Iran is an important partner to Kurdistan”.
This is Zarif’s second visit to Kurdistan since he took office in 2013. He visited Baghdad yesterday and reiterated strong ties with the central government in Iraq during meetings with top officials.
Trade volume between Kurdistan and Iran stands at nearly 7 billion dollars.
Iran had reopened border crossings with Kurdistan after the region voted for independence from Iraq in a local referendum in September 2017, a move opposed by Tehran.