Arab League Chief praises Iraqi control of disputed areas, wishes same in Syria

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The Arab League chief has welcomed military advances made in October this year by Iraqi forces in disputed areas, and said that he hoped for the same to happen in Syria.

Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, who penned a letter to the Kurdish leadership in August followed by his visit to Erbil in September, led the efforts of the Pan-Arab organization to convince the Kurdistan Region to postpone the vote.

The Kurdistan Region on both occasions declined to call off the Kurdish vote on independence. Erbil also declined such requests from neighboring countries, and international allies as well the Iraqi government.

Aboul-Gheit, the Secretary-General of the Arab League, said at a conference on the Middle East and North Africa held in the Italian city of Rome, that the Iraqi government has to work to create a balance between the country’s various components such as Shiites, Sunnis Arabs, and the Kurds.

“Good news is that the state of Iraq has gained more ground in the northern part of the country,” the Arab leader said, in reference to the Iraqi military incursion into the disputed or Kurdistani areas claimed by both Iraq and the Kurdistan Region such as the oil-rich Kirkuk.

He said Iraq has to try to solve the Kurdish problem, without giving further details.

Regarding Syria where Kurdish parties have carved out a self-styled federal region while controlling about a quarter of Syria, Aboul-Gheit said that Syria’s “territorial integrity is crucial to the Arab league.”

The Arab League has suspended membership of the Syrian Republic since November 2011 when the country entered an ongoing civil war that has since killed about half a million civilians, by some estimates.

The Kurdish region, called Rojava or Western Kurdistan, has been largely spared from the civil war. The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) has been primarily fighting against ISIS militants while avoiding confrontations against forces of the Syrian regime.

Syrian officials, and Iranians' who back the government in Damascus, including President Bashar al-Assad have said that they plan to re-control every inch of their country such as Raqqa that came under the SDF control in October after defeating ISIS militants.

Aboul-Gheit, from the Arab League, said in his letter back in August that the Kurdish referendum pushes everyone to take “tough stances” that did not serve the interest of Iraqis or Kurds. He said he wants Iraq and other members of the Arab League to respect the rights of its minorities.

“While the Arab League is strongly keen on ensuring the territorial integrity of Arab states ... it equally urges all of its member states to keep their promises with regard to the modern terms of citizenship and equality of the rights among all members of the same nation,” the Arab leader said then.