Germany’s top official arrives in Erbil, discussing ISIS with President Barzani

Germany’s top official arrives in Erbil, discussing ISIS with President Barzani

Minister of state at the German foreign ministry on Wednesday arrived in Erbil, meeting with Kurdistan Region President Nechirvan Barzani. They discussed a range of topics, including the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS) and Germany’s recent recognition of the ISIS crimes against Yazidis as “genocide,” according to Barzani’s office.

Tobias Lindner, Minister of State at Germany’s Federal Foreign Office, arrived in Baghdad on Wednesday, meeting with Iraqi top officials. Later in the day, he arrived in Erbil.

“I am coming from Baghdad where I had talks as well with the federal government of Iraq as well as the military missions and the United Nations. I can assure you that bilateral relations with Iraq and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq are very important,” Lindner told reporters at Erbil International Airport.

Baghdad and Erbil have made “big progress in increasing the security of the region as well as economic prosperity. In the past, we supported the stabilisation of Iraq and now we are looking forward to deepening relations,” he added.

The German minister later visited President Barzani.

Both “agreed that ISIS is still a real threat and it poses a serious threat to the security of Iraq and the region. Therefore, Iraq and the Kurdistan Region still need the continuation of the global coalition against ISIS’ mission,” read a readout from Barzani’s office.

ISIS attacked the disputed town of Shingal in the summer of 2014, killing and kidnapping thousands of Yazidis, with the fate of a large number of them remaining unclear.

German parliament on Thursday recognized the ISIS crimes against Yazidis as “genocide.”

Germany has been an essential member of the global coalition against ISIS.

President Barzani thanked Germany for the recognition, added the readout.

The largest Yazidi community in the world is found in Germany where over 200,000 members of the ethnoreligious group live, Germany’s integration minister told Rudaw last week.

Source: rudaw