“Tired” Kurdistan to seek “legitimate mandate” to negotiate independence “in peaceful way” with Baghdad

Falah Mustafa Bakir, Head of Department of Foreign Relations of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) —that is, the de facto Foreign minister of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region—, has addressed an audience made up of academics, journalists and policymakers on the issue of “The Middle East geopolitics and Europe’s role: an insight from Iraqi Kurdistan”, in an event organized by Catalan think tank CIDOB. Bakir’s speech has been followed by some questions from the audience. This is a selection of the minister’s most interesting remarks, grouped by topic. One general idea that spans through his whole speech is a continuous call to Europe not to refrain from having a role in the region: “Even if you decide to withdraw from the Middle East, the Middle East will drag you into the region. You cannot change geography.”