Kurdistan's PM: we are very proud to say that we are American allies

Shafaq News/ On Monday, the Kurdish Government revealed that Kurdish Prime Minister Masrour Barzani met with the US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken at the headquarters of the US State Department in Washington.

Before the meeting, the two officials expressed in remarks reported by the Secretary of State the close ties between the two sides.

PM Barzani confirmed that Erbil and Washington are "good friends," adding, "we are very proud to say that we are American allies. We have been through some very difficult times. And we are very thankful and we express our gratitude for the support that the US has always given to our people. And now we are having some new challenges in the region."

On the other hand, Blinken highlighted, "We have – the United States has a long partnership with the KRG, with the Kurdistan Regional Government. And it's a partnership that is cemented first and foremost in shared values, shared interests, and also a shared history of sacrifice together and something that we take very seriously…Our support for a resilient KRG is integral to our 360-degree approach to Iraq. And so the opportunity today to reaffirm this support, reaffirm this partnership and the work that we're doing together I think is important and timely. "

The US Secretary considered the KRG "has also been a critical partner for stability in the region and the health of the private sector, including American investments, and that too is important. So we've had many periods together where we've been side-by-side, shoulder-to-shoulder under the most challenging circumstances. This period has its share of challenges as well. But being able to face them together is very important."