“Syrian Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam discussed ‘threats directed towards Iraq’ in Damascus with Masoud Barzani, the leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in Iraq, according to the Syrian news agency SANA. SANA reported that Khaddam and Barzani discussed ‘threats directed towards Iraq’ and agreed on the necessity of lifting the sanctions imposed on the Iraqi people to alleviate their suffering and prevent any dangers. They also discussed the situation in the region.
Barzani visited Syria on April 10th last year and met with both Khaddam and the Assistant Secretary-General of the ruling Ba’ath Party in Syria, Abdullah Al-Ahmar. Barzani arrived in Damascus yesterday, Wednesday, for a visit lasting several days, during which he will meet with several Syrian officials.
The Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, led by Jalal Talabani, have controlled the Kurdish areas in northern Iraq since 1991. These two Kurdish parties are known to vie for influence in this region in northern Iraq, which is entirely outside the control of the central government in Baghdad.
At the beginning of last month, the Kurdistan Democratic Party announced in a statement that a delegation from the U.S. Department of State, led by Ryan Crocker, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Middle Eastern Affairs, had recently met with several Iraqi Kurdish officials in northern Iraq. The statement mentioned that ‘the discussions focused on the political situation in Iraq and the Middle East region.'”
