Barzani congratulates Erdoğan, calls PKK “occupant”

Nechirvan Barzani congratulated Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan, and accused PKK of being “occupant” in Kurdistan region.

Federal Kurdistan Region Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani called Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan and congratulated him for his “victory” in 24 June elections in Turkey.

Regarding the Turkish state’s invasion attacks against southern Kurdistan, northern Iraq, Barzani acknowledged civilian casualties, saying; “We are concerned over the occasional civilian losses suffered during the operations carried out by Turkey and other forces”.

The government of Hewler (Erbil) has maintained its silence in the face of massacres perpetrated by the Turkish state against civilians up to date. Turkish state has militarily occupied several areas in the Kurdistan region of Iraq for months, and carries out uninterrupted bombardments against civilian areas.

Despite this truth, Barzani blamed the PKK, saying; “PKK has occupied a large territory of Kurdistan Region and is conducting attacks against Turkey form these areas.”

Barzani said “We are against attacks carried out from Kurdistan Region against Iran and Turkey”, as he did not utter a single word against Turkish invasion in the region.

Nechirvan Barzani also spoke about the Iranian Kurdistan Democratic Party (IKDP) and Komala organization, saying; “We have repeatedly asked Iranian opposition groups and PKK to not launch attacks from the Kurdistan Region soil. What is being done is not one-sided. The people need to know this.”