Iraqi Government Opposes US Congress Proposal to Arm Kurds - Prime Minister

The Iraqi government has strongly opposed a bill proposed by the US Congress that allows the Iraqi Kurds to be armed directly, bypassing Iraq's central government, Iraqi Prime Minister Haidar al-Abadi said in a press release.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — In March 2015, the US Congress introduced legislation to sidestep the bureaucratic delays in Baghdad that have led to delays in arms shipments to the Kurdish front against the ISIL. The legislation would allocate military articles directly to the Kurdish Peshmerga fighters.

"The bill proposed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is opposed [by the Iraqi government], as it leads to further divisions in the region," al-Abadi said on Wednesday.

A Kurdish Peshmerga fighter carries his weapon walks onto his base, where two flags of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) are seen on a building, right, and water tower, left, at the front line with the al-Qaida-inspired militants in Tuz Khormato, 100 kilometers (62 miles) south of the oil rich province of Kirkuk, northern Iraq.

© AP Photo / Hussein Malla

"We call on the US Congress not to go through with the bill to preserve strategic relations between the two countries [the United States and Iraq] in fighting the Islamic State terrorist organization and reinforcing cooperation between them," al-Abadi added.

The Iraqi Prime Minister added that countries working alongside Baghdad in combatting the ISIL have respected Iraq’s sovereignty, and stressed that nobody will receive weapons without the consent of the central government.

“There is no double dealing with the outside parties… We stress that arming any group will not occur unless via the Iraqi government, in accordance with its military plans,” al-Abadi added.