Abadi, Barzani agree to cooperate on Mosul battle, heal mutual rifts

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Abadi, Barzani agree to cooperate on Mosul battle, heal mutual rifts

Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi and leader of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region Masoud Barzani have reached a consensus to settle disagreements and join forces for the upcoming operation to liberate the city of Mosul.

According to Press TV, the development came after a meeting between Abadi and Barzani in the Iraqi capital, Baghdad, on Thursday.

Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) has traveled to Baghdad at the head of a delegation, comprising members of four political parties, to hold talks with officials and political leaders. It is Barzani’s first trip to Baghdad over the last five years.

During a joint press conference after the meeting, the Iraqi premier said that the army had made final preparations for retaking Mosul, the last remaining bastion for the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group in the north of the country.

Abadi also described the Mosul offensive as extremely important and noted that the army forces, supported by the Popular Mobilization Units as well as tribal and the Kurdish Peshmerga forces, will score a victory there as was the case with other Iraqi cities and towns.

The Iraqi prime minister further stressed that all troops participating in the Mosul offensive are from Iraq and no foreigners would be among them.

The US-led coalition only supports the operation, he went on to say.

Barzani, for his part, expressed his “full” support for Abadi and highlighted the need for resolving differences between Baghdad and Erbil.

He said that the eradication of terrorism and purging Iraq of criminals is a common priority.

The Kurdish leader also expressed his satisfaction with the level of Baghdad-Erbil cooperation to clear Mosul of terrorists and said that Iraqi army commanders and Peshmerga forces have coordinated a plan for the full liberation of the city.

He further said that an agreement was reached with Abadi to resolve all problems between Baghdad and Erbil in the fields of economy and oil.

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