During the meetings they discussed US strategy against ISIS, the ongoing negotiations with Baghdad, and the humanitarian crisis in the Kurdistan Region.
The advance of ISIS through Iraq and Syria has precipitated a massive humanitarian crisis. The Kurdistan Region currently hosts more than 1.4 million refugees and internally displaced persons. With winter arriving, hundreds of thousands are ill-prepared for the cold weather and will suffer if winterising aid is not provided immediately. The government in Baghdad has also withheld the KRG’s share of national oil revenues since January, a sum that now totals nearly $10 billion, further exacerbating the complex crisis.
Dr Hussein and Minister Mustafa met individually with members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, SFRC and Senate Armed Services Committee, including SFRC Chairman Senator Robert Menendez, as well as Senators John McCain, Ben Cardin, Jack Reed, and Tim Kaine.
Senator McCain told the delegation, ‘Not a day goes by that I don’t work with my colleagues to get you what you need to defeat these terrorists.’
The KRG Representation to the United States hosted a media roundtable discussion for the delegation with reporters from the Wall Street Journal, Reuters, Bloomberg, Al Monitor, and Foreign Policy.
Dr Hussein told the reporters, ‘We are ready to fight, but we need heavy weapons. Without these weapons, I think it will be difficult for us to continue this fight, or at least we cannot liberate other areas.’ Minister Mustafa added, ‘We cannot wait and expect weapons to come from Baghdad. It is important that we come to the United States to inform our friends and allies of the situation.’
(Source: KRG)
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