The Kurdish government has not been pushing for US troops troop to remain in areas of disputed sovereignty with Iraq, but does not oppose them staying, the representative of the governing Kurdish coalition said today.
Fuad Massum’s made the statement in response to claims from some Arabic media sources that he says “misinterpreted” his recent statements on the issue.
He said that he has not said that US forces should stay in Iraq but the Kurdish government would “have no objections if they stayed longer,” adding that it is up to parliament need to deliberate on the issue.
Under a strategic pact between the US and Iraq, American combat troops should completely withdraw from Iraq by end of 2011 unless Iraq elects to extend their stay.
The sovereignty of the oil rich provinces of Kirkuk and Nineveh, as well as some areas in Salahaddin and Diyala, is a point of contention between the governments in Baghdad and Kurdistan. Kurds say that these now multiethnic areas were originally Kurdish, but their demography was changed through Saddam’s policy of Arabization, where Arabs were deliberately moved into areas to change their ethnic identity.
Some Arab media outlets claim that Kurds need US troops in the country to aid them in their claims over the areas.
In response to this claim Mr Massum said: “Kurds do not need any force for the restoration of those areas.”
In late April Mike Mullen, US Joint Chief of Staff, told Iraq that it must decide soon whether it wishes to extend the deadline.
Fuad Massum’s made the statement in response to claims from some Arabic media sources that he says “misinterpreted” his recent statements on the issue.
He said that he has not said that US forces should stay in Iraq but the Kurdish government would “have no objections if they stayed longer,” adding that it is up to parliament need to deliberate on the issue.
Under a strategic pact between the US and Iraq, American combat troops should completely withdraw from Iraq by end of 2011 unless Iraq elects to extend their stay.
The sovereignty of the oil rich provinces of Kirkuk and Nineveh, as well as some areas in Salahaddin and Diyala, is a point of contention between the governments in Baghdad and Kurdistan. Kurds say that these now multiethnic areas were originally Kurdish, but their demography was changed through Saddam’s policy of Arabization, where Arabs were deliberately moved into areas to change their ethnic identity.
Some Arab media outlets claim that Kurds need US troops in the country to aid them in their claims over the areas.
In response to this claim Mr Massum said: “Kurds do not need any force for the restoration of those areas.”
In late April Mike Mullen, US Joint Chief of Staff, told Iraq that it must decide soon whether it wishes to extend the deadline.
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