Germany's foreign minister has called on the leaders of Iraqi Kurdistan to "peacefully" resolve disputes with Baghdad. Iraqi Kurdistan's premier instead urged Berlin to take a "stronger role" in resolving the conflict.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Gambarini
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German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel on Monday said Berlin's support for the Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq was linked to "Iraq as a unified state" after meeting with Iraqi Kurdistan's premier, Nechirvan Barzani.
Berlin has provided more than €1 billion ($1.2 billion) in humanitarian and development aid to Iraq since 2014, making the country one of the largest recipients of German assistance.
"We want to continue that, but the precondition is that Iraq resolves its internal conflicts peacefully and democratically and that we find a way out of the tense situation we are in now," Gabriel said during a joint press conference.
The foreign minister told reporters that Germany had warned the regional government against holding a controversial Kurdish independence referendum, a move that triggered a violent response from Baghdad.
Iraqi Kurdistan Prime Minister Nechirvan Barzani urged Germany to take a "stronger role" in ending a dispute with BaghdadImage: picture-alliance/dpa/M. Gambarini
Standing next to Gabriel, Barzani urged Germany to "play a stronger role in bringing us together." After meeting with the foreign minister, Barzani is expected to meet with German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
The turmoil in northern Iraq prompted German authorities to suspend a Bundeswehr mission to train Iraqi Kurds, which includes roughly 150 German service members.
While Germany's parliament voted to extend the military mission, its mandate ends in March to allow the next government to determine its status.
Kirkuk: Who's fighting in Iraq's Kurdish-controlled province?
From Shiite militias to Turkey's outlawed PKK, armed groups are fighting for power in Iraqi Kurdistan's oil-rich province of Kirkuk. DW examines who's who in the dispute as tensions rise in the Middle East nation.
Image: picture-alliance/abaca
Battle for Kirkuk
Only a few shots were fired, but Iraq's decision to send in armed forces into the Kurdish-controlled province of Kirkuk and bring it back into the fold has heightened tensions in the Middle East nation. Who's on who's side? And where is the territorial dispute going? DW takes a look at the actors and their motives.
Image: Reuters/Stringer
Iraq's army
In 2014, Kurdish forces went into Kirkuk to fill in the void left behind after Iraq's army collapsed from the "Islamic State's" military campaign. But three years later, the Iraqi military has been rebuilt and ridden a wave of victories against the notorious militant group. They're the main instrument of hard power for the Iraqi government as Baghdad fights for control of the oil-rich province.
Image: Reuters/Stringer
Shiite-dominated Popular Mobilization Units
Even during the liberation of Mosul, the Iraqi army was backed by the Popular Mobilization Units – an alliance of mostly Shiite militias. The Popular Mobilization Units joined the Iraqi army when it advanced on Kurdish-controlled positions in and around the city of Kirkuk. Kurdish politicians have lashed at the units, saying they're serving Iran's goal to destabilize the region.
Image: Getty Images/AFP/A. Al-Rubaye
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK)
The Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) is one of the main opposition political parties in Iraqi Kurdistan. Since the first Gulf War, the PUK has jointly administered Iraqi Kurdistan with the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP). Both the PUK and KDP have their own peshmerga forces. In Kirkuk, PUK peshmerga fled the city, leaving it virtually unopposed to Iraqi forces.
Image: picture-alliance/AA/H. Baban
Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP)
The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) led by Iraqi Kurdistan President Masoud Barzani is the ruling political party in Iraqi Kurdistan's parliament. Despite warnings from the central government, it was the KDP's Barzani who vowed to move forward on the independence referendum, infuriating Baghdad. KDP peshmerga fighters – like the PUK fighters – fled Kirkuk when Iraqi forces advanced on the city.
Image: picture-alliance/AP Photo/B. Janssen
The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) was born in the 1970s out of an ambitious dream to create a Marxist-Leninist state in the Middle East to be called Kurdistan. In the 1980s, the group launched a bloody insurgency against the state of Turkey. While considered unwelcome in Iraq, the PKK has links with Iraq's Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) – and likely appeared in Kirkuk to back them.
