In a historic visit to Kirkuk today, President Barzani told the people of Kirkuk that only they can decide their future and that no outside solution can be imposed on the status of the city.

After arriving in Kirkuk, the President held a number of meetings with various communities including Kurds, Arabs, Turkmens and Christians, and stressed the need for peaceful co-existence and cooperation among the communities in this city.

“I am here today carrying a message of peaceful co-existence and religious and ethnic tolerance. You have suffered tremendously in the past. You have suffered from “Arabization”, forced deportations and ethnic cleansing. We need to open a new chapter and strive to live in peace and fraternity. No community in Kirkuk should be marginalized. Kurds, Arabs, Turkmens, Assyrians and Chaldeans must work hand in hand to make Kirkuk an example of peaceful co-existence and brotherhood,” said President Barzani about tensions that have existed between the communities in Kirkuk.

President Barzani also pledged that the KRG will continue to offer services and assistance to the people of Kirkuk regardless of their ethnic or religious background.
“The KRG will do what it can to offer assistance and security to all the people of Kirkuk. However, what the KRG can do for you is limited as it is using resources allocated for the Kurdistan Region. This state of affairs is untenable and we believe the best solution is the implementation of Artilce-140 of the Iraqi Constitution."

“We have no doubt about the identity of Kirkuk and the implementation of Article-140 does not equate to the joining of Kirkuk to the Kurdistan Region, as some people falsely claim. Nor will this make Kirkuk any less of an Iraqi city. It merely provides the opportunity for the people of Kirkuk to decide their future. We will continue to do what we can to support the people of Kirkuk, whether the people of Kirkuk decide to join the Kurdistan Region or not,” said the President, adding that any attempts to impose outside agendas on the future of Kirkuk are unacceptable.

.Article-140 of the Iraqi Constitution defines a roadmap for the resolution of the status of Kirkuk and other disputed areas in three phases of normalization, census and referendum.
During today’s meetings, representatives of Kurds, Arabs, Turkmens, Assyrians and Chaldeans all praised a recent decision by the KRG and President Barzani to supply electricity to Kirkuk. The KRG now supplies 200 Mega Watts of electricity to Kirkuk which has significantly increased the number of hours per day of power availability.