Plasschaert rules out establishing a "no-fly" zone to deter attacks on Iraq, Kurdistan

Shafaq News/ The United Nations cannot establish a no-fly zone to deter Turkey and Iran's attacks on Iraq, Special Representative of the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Jeanine Hennis-Plasschaert, said at a forum organized by the Middle East Research Institute (MERI) in the Kurdistan region's capital city, Erbil, on Tuesday.

Held at the historic Erbil Citadel, the forum titled "Iraq for All" is attended by members of the diplomatic community, government officials, and pundits from both inside Iraq and abroad.

Plasschaert said that addressing such challenges is only feasible if the federal government, the Kurdistan Regional Government, and all the political parties join hands to confront these challenges and end corruption.

Russia's ambassador to Iraq, Elbrus Kotrachev, said that his country does not condone "the attacks waged on the Kurdistan region from Iran or any other countries", and demanded ceasing the attacks on the region's oilfields.

The leading figure in the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Jafar Eminki said, "what kind of sovereignty are they talking about? Turkey keeps bombing us and goes deeper into Iraqi territory."

Researcher Vali Nasr commended, "Turkey, Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, in various ways, are competing for influence, particularly in countries that are weaker in the region in Iraq, in Syria, in Lebanon."