President Nechirvan Barzani of Iraq's Kurdistan region has said weapons must be held by the Iraqi government and warned that the country must not threaten Gulf states, as Baghdad enters a new phase following the withdrawal of US-led coalition forces.“Iraq should not be a threat to Gulf countries. Iraq should never do that, that is not sovereignty,” Mr Barzani said at the annual Middle East Research Institute Forum in Erbil on Monday. “Weapons should be in the hands of the government,” he added, arguing that Iraq needed to strengthen its ability to exercise sovereignty and take responsibility for its own security.The remarks come as Iraq faces pressure to bring armed factions under state control following attacks by Iran-aligned groups on targets in Iraq and across the region. The US-led coalition against ISIS completed its military withdrawal from Iraq on September 30, with security co-operation between Baghdad and Washington now moving towards a bilateral framework.In a statement marking October 1 as the day of full Iraqi sovereignty following the withdrawal, Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al Zaidi said the serious work of dealing with weapons outside state control began now.Mr Barzani said Iraq no longer needed such a large international coalition after 12 years of its presence, adding that the country should develop bilateral security relationships with partner states. “We thank t...
This page contains an attributed headline and the preview text supplied through the publisher’s RSS feed. Copyright in the original reporting belongs to The National.
