Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani and U.S. National Security Advisor Michael Waltz spoke by phone on Friday and discussed ways to advance the relationship between the Kurdistan Region, Iraq, and the United States.
According to the KRG readout, both sides agreed on the need for a new KRG cabinet to be formed and oil exports from the Kurdistan Region to be resumed as soon as possible.
I spoke with the US National Security Advisor @MikeWaltz47 on ways to advance the relationship between the Kurdistan Region and Iraq with the United States. https://t.co/20VtIp20fR
— Masrour Barzani (@masrourbarzani) March 21, 2025
On March 25, 2023, Kurdish crude oil exports through Turkiye were stopped after an international arbitration court ruled in favor of Baghdad against Ankara, halting 450,000 barrels per day of crude oil exports.
Read More: KRG Welcomes U.S. Position on Resumption of Oil Exports
U.S. State Department Spokesperson Tammy Bruce on Thursday urged Iraq to swiftly reach an agreement with international oil companies to resume exports through the Iraq-Turkiye Pipeline and honor U.S. company contracts.
Read More: Kurdish Leaders Congratulate Trump on Inauguration
The KRG has built a strong relationship with the new Trump Administration.
Top Kurdish leaders on January 20 congratulated President Donald Trump on his inauguration as President of the United States. Earlier, in November, KRG Prime Minister Barzani expressed his optimism about the new administration during the 2024 Middle East Peace and Security Forum.
Read More: President Trump Stresses Ties with Kurdistan Region
Michael Knights, the Jill and Jay Bernstein Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute, speaking during a Chatham House Middle East and North Africa Program event on March 18, underlined that “anyone in the Iraqi government can feel that there is a warmer relationship there between the Kurdistan Region’s leadership figures ... and Washington, and we can see that with the sort of access … that President Nechirvan Barzani had at the Munich security conference.”
