Iraqi Kurds still love US despite its opposition to Kurdish independence, says Kurdish leader
U.S. opposition to an independence referendum by Iraqi Kurds will not break a long-standing alliance between the stateless community and the United States, the Kurdish prime minister says.
While Washington opposed the September 2017 referendum for independence, Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani insisted that the people of Kurdistan still see America as their No. 1 partner and have hope the U.S. will come to endorse their ongoing dream of independence.
“There was disappointment among the Kurdish people; the people of Kurdistan have had high expectations from the United States and they believe that the values the U.S. cherishes, we also cherish,” Barzani told Fox News in an exclusive interview last week in his office.
“But the people of Kurdistan, they still love the United States,” he said. “Kurds consider themselves a friend and partner to the United States. We want this to continue long term.”
The U.S., joined by most of the international community, backed the Baghdad Central Government in opposing the referendum over fears the push toward independence would have potentially “catastrophic consequences” on the fight against ISIS and on the region as a whole, given that neighbors Iran and Turkey worry that their own significant Kurdish populations would attempt to carve out land for themselves.
Source: Fox News
