German foreign minister arrives in Erbil on unannounced visit

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier  arrived in the Kurdistan region on an unannounced visit late Monday.

He was  received at Erbil airport by Kurdish Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani and Falah Mustafa Bakir, head of the KRG's foreign relations department.

Steinmeier, who is on his third visit to Kurdistan, is scheduled to meet President Masoud Barzani on Tuesday and visit refugee camps, as well as bases where German forces are training Kurdish Peshmerga soldiers.

Germany has been one of the staunchest backers of the Kurdistan Regional Government in the war with Daesh, or ISIS.