During an online meeting on Monday, Safeen Dizayee, Head of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) Department of Foreign Relations, asked Arab countries to reopen their consulates general in the Kurdistan Region as soon as possible.

On Monday, Dizayee held an online meeting with Arab consuls general from Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, the UAE, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. Currently, only Palestine and Egypt still have consulates in the Kurdistan Region, after the other consulates evacuated during the conflict between the United States and Iran. 

Read More: Kurdistan Region Targeted More Than 1,000 Times by Missiles, Drones: PM

Since February 28, the Kurdistan Region has been targeted by 1,000 drone and missile attacks. In March, the consulate of the UAE was targeted twice, resulting in injuries to two security personnel and damage to the consulate building.

During the meeting, Dizayee thanked the Arab countries for the positions they took during attacks carried out against official institutions of the Kurdistan Region. He added that the most recent attacks had a political objective, since they targeted the headquarters and residences of senior KRG officials, foremost among them the offices of the Kurdistan Region President and the KRG Prime Minister.

The August 17 attack on the KRG Prime Minister’s office was condemned by several Arabic states, including Palestine, Kuwait, Bahrain, the UAE, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.

He said that the Arab countries that condemned and denounced these attacks have particular political and diplomatic importance, and that the Kurdistan Region highly values their positions.

He also said that the Kurdistan Region condemns the attacks and acts of aggression carried out against the Gulf and Arab countries.

“As the Kurdistan Region, we support de-escalation and the restoration of stability in the region in general, and we support every effort aimed at reducing tensions and establishing peace and security in the region,” he concluded.