AMBASSADOR HILL'S INTRODUCTORY MEETING WITH MASOUD

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 001184

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/04/2019
TAGS: PGOV PREL IR TU IZ
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR HILL'S INTRODUCTORY MEETING WITH MASOUD
BARZANI

Classified By: Acting PolCouns John Fox; reason 1.4.(b) AND (d)



1. (C) SUMMARY. In a May 2 meeting with KRG President
Barzani in Erbil, Ambassador urged Barzani to reach out to PM
Maliki on issues that divide them. He assured Barzani the
U.S. is committed to supporting Iraqi leaders in what may be
a long and sometimes difficult political process. Barzani
admitted UNAMI's report on the disputed internal boundaries
(DIBs) "provides something for discussion." Kurdish
officials are over-optimistic that Arabs in Kirkuk will
return to their places of origin and that Turkmen will
ultimately support Kirkuk joining the Kurdistan Region (KR),
but acknowledged that "Kurdization" is not an appropriate
response to past Arabization. Barzani pledged to protect
minority rights in the KR, but said the Kurds might
reconsider power-sharing if it is not reciprocated by Sunni
Arab leaders in Ninewa. Barzani remains anxious about
potential Peshmerga clashes with the Iraqi Army, Iranian
meddling, and the power of the central government. END
SUMMARY.


2. (C) Ambassador Hill traveled to Erbil on May 2 for an
introductory meeting with Kurdish Regional Government (KRG)
President Masoud Barzani at the Presidential compound in
Salahhudin. With Barzani were Kurdish parliamentary speaker
Adnan Mufti, Senior Advisor Rosch Shaweys, chief of staff
Fuad Hussein, and KRG Foreign Affairs Director Falah Bakir.
The Ambassador was accompanied by PMIN Robert Ford, PRT Erbil
chief Lucy Tamlyn, senior advisor Brett McGurk, military
advisor COL Ron Mozzillo, and Poloff Joe Cassidy.

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U.S.-Kurdish relations
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3. (C) Barzani responded warmly to the Ambassador's
introductory words about the history of U.S.-Kurdish
cooperation. He said he was quite pleased with his April 7
meeting with President Obama. Barzani recounted recent
Kurdish history and warned of attempts by Prime Minister
Maliki to accrue power, but also pledged that "despite
oppression of the Kurds, we will cooperate with other groups
to build Iraq." Ambassador assured Barzani the U.S. is
committed to supporting political accommodation in Iraq and
that we understand resolution of outstanding political issues
may not happen soon and may not be easy. He told Barzani
that negotiators don't get to choose with whom they
negotiate, they must engage those with whom they have
differences. Barzani responded with the Iraq saying, "You
don't get to choose your brothers, only your friends," and
said America is a friend.

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Preparing KRG response to UNAMI Reports
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4. (C) Barzani said the KRG has established a "committee of
experts" to review the draft UNAMI reports on the disputed
internal boundaries (DIBs) issues and prepare the KRG
response. His initial impression, he said, is that the
reports "show some unfairness to the Kurds" but "provide
something for discussion." Ambassador said we would like to
see progress soon, as the passage of time will not make
resolution easier. Barzani agreed. (Hussein told PolOff
Cassidy in a side conversation that the KRG has
sub-committees doing fact-checking and preparing the KRG's
policy response, which would be ready in the next several
days.)

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Territorial Claims and Demography in Kirkuk
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5. (C) Speaker Mufti argued that Kirkuk was historically
Kurdish and said that Ottoman maps support this. He
acknowledged that other groups, too, have rights that must be
Qacknowledged that other groups, too, have rights that must be
respected, and said the Kurds do not seek to commit
"Kurdization" in response to Saddam-era Arabization. He
pledged the KRG would "prevent Kurdish fundamentalists from
expelling Arabs" from mixed areas. Mufti said a majority of
Kirkuk's Turkmen community would choose to join the Kurdish
Region in a referendum and the majority of Arabs sent to
Kirkuk -- mostly Shi'a -- would accept compensation under the
Article 140 process and return to their original areas.
(Comment: Mufti is over-optimistic in both contentions, we
believe. End comment.)

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Minority Rights in Kurdish Region

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6. (C) Mufti said the process of drafting the KRG
constitution is nearing completion and would offer
protections of minority rights greater than those found in
the Iraqi constitution. Barzani explained the KRG would set
aside government positions for minority groups in areas
incorporated into the KRG, Turkmen and Arabs in particular.
He then warned more darkly that the Kurds might reconsider if
the new (Sunni Arab) provincial authorities in Ninewa did not
share power with local Kurdish leaders.

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Risk of military clashes
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7. (C) Barzani warned the Ambassador that Baghdad intends to
change facts on the ground in the disputed areas by deploying
Iraqi Army units into Peshmerga-controlled areas (he cited
the 12th IA division in Kirkuk as the foremost threat). The
situation in Mosul is worrying, he said, because Maliki and
former Ba'athists were making common cause on an anti-Kurd
platform.

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Regional relations
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8. (C) Barzani expressed gratitude for U.S. sacrifices in
Iraq and noted that a defeat in Iraq would have deleterious
effects throughout the region. He said warmer KRG relations
with Ankara arose from an evolution of Turkish positions. He
cited Iran as the chief regional problem and said Iranians
leaders "think they won" because U.S. military action in
Afghanistan and Iraq removed two rivals of Tehran and
installed allies in Baghdad.

HILL