On March 13, 2024, Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Prime Minister Masrour Barzani held a meeting with the UK’s Ambassador to Iraq Steven Hitchen, in which Ambassador Hitchen highlighted the UK’s commitment to maintaining a strong partnership with the Kurdistan Region.

“We discussed the current situation with salaries, the latest rulings from the (Federal) Supreme Court and the future of the counter-Da’esh (anti-ISIS coalition). I expressed the ongoing friendship of the UK for the Kurdistan Region and all of Iraq,” Ambassador Hitchen told Kurdistan Chronicle.

Prime Minister @masrourbarzani today met with @UKinIraq Ambassador @SCHitchenFCDO. They discussed bilateral relations, the latest developments in Iraq and the wider region and the importance of resolving issues between the Kurdistan Region and the federal Iraqi government on the… pic.twitter.com/knJy65gs76

— Bayan Sami Rahman (@BayanRahman) March 13, 2024

In the meeting, they also discussed recent regional developments and the resolution of ongoing disputes between Erbil and Baghdad, in alignment with the Iraqi constitution and established agreements, the KRG said in a readout.

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Prime Minister Barzani reaffirmed the Region’s steadfast commitment to defending its constitutional rights, regardless of external pressures, in an indirect reference to several court rulings of the Federal Supreme Court of Iraq that have undermined the Kurdistan Region’s institutions and autonomy.

The KRG readout also said an emphasis was placed on the need for the establishment of the Federal Council to bolster Iraq’s governance structure and protect the rights of all the religious and ethnic communities in the country.

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On Tuesday, Dr. Abdul Rahman Suleiman Zebari, a Kurdish judge of the Federal Supreme Court, withdrew from the court in protest against recent decisions that undermine federalism in Iraq. 

Moreover, on Wednesday, Kurdistan Region Judicial Council Head Judge Abdul Jabbar Aziz Hassan condemned the February 21 decision by the Federal Supreme Court to abolish 11 quota seats for minorities in the Kurdistan Region Parliament.

Turkmen and Christian parties this week also announced a boycott of the upcoming elections planned to take place in June to protest the decision by the Federal Supreme Court.

The KRG readout emphasized that the meeting between Prime Minister Barzani and Ambassador Hitchen “reaffirmed a shared commitment to the reform efforts led by the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs and to safeguarding the rights of the region’s diverse ethnic and religious communities.”

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The UK, the Netherlands, the United States, and Germany are members of the Multi-National Advisory Group, which provides advisors to the peshmerga reform project, aiming to create a professional and non-partisan peshmerga force.