ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - US State Department on Thursday said that Washington is “concerned” that the tensions between Kurdistan Region’s ruling parties have had impact on the process of Peshmerga reforms, adding that they have informed the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of this.
“We continue to have concerns [about] the impact of the internal Kurdish divisions on the pace of Peshmerga reform… and we have communicated these concerns to senior KRG leaders as well,” US State Department Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel told Rudaw’s Diyar Kurda during a press briefing on Thursday.
Peshmerga Minister Shoresh Ismail, from the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), was unhappy with political parties interfering in the ministry and submitted his resignation late last year. He is no longer filling the role even though his resignation has not yet been officially accepted by the Council of Ministers. The failure to appoint a new minister is believed to be related to tensions between the PUK and its rival, Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP).
Kurdistan Region Deputy Prime Minister Qubad Talabani, who is also a senior member of the PUK, last month told a top American defence delegation that the absence of a minister at the Peshmerga ministry had affected the process of reforms in the force.
Under the supervision of Western allies, especially the US, Kurdish authorities have launched a reforms process in the Peshmerga forces with the hope of bringing all units under the control of the Peshmerga ministry. Some units are still affiliated to the ruling parties.
Washington in September signed the renewal of the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the ministry of Peshmerga. The signing of the first MoU between the Peshmerga ministry and the Pentagon was first signed in 2016 under Former President of Kurdistan Region and KDP Leader Masoud Barzani, and has been extended several times since.
The US-led global coalition against the Islamic State (ISIS) said in a statement on July 20 that it attended a quarterly meeting of the Peshmerga ministry.
“The Coalition acknowledged some specific progress achieved by MoPA officials, to include improved command and control and financial transparency. Still, the underlying goal of unifying Peshmerga forces under MoPA [Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs] has been slowed by the ongoing political divide between the KDP and PUK, “ read the statement.
“The Coalition expressed its expectation that the IKR [Iraqi Kurdistan Region] demonstrate political will to implement reforms ahead of the annual review in September, specifically the appointment of an interim MoPA Minister,” continued the coalition.
Iraqi banks
The US recently banned transaction with 14 Iraqi banks for allegedly violating its rules. The move further devaluated the Iraqi currency.
"To be quite clear, we did not sanction these 14 banks. Earlier in July, the Treasury Department and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York removed 14 banks from access to the Central Bank of Iraq's Foreign Currency Selling Window, known as the Dollar and Wire auctions. These actions help limit the ability of bad actors sticking to launder US dollars, profit from the exploitation of money owned by the Iraqi people and evade US sanctions," Patel told Rudaw during the briefing.
"Corruption poses a challenge for Iraq's banking sector," he added.
He also said that the US and Iraqi governments are working on resolving these issues.
Updated at 11:32 pm
