Kurdish forces took control of Kirkuk and other disputed regions in fight against the Islamic State (IS) after the terrorist group defeated the Iraqi army in many regions and seized the control of a large part of Iraq but the Kurds withdrew from the regions in the wake of the independence referendum of the region in September 2017.

Professor Daniel Serwer, who was against the independence referendum and warned the Kurds about the ill-timed move, told Kurdpress in an interview that the Kurds cannot achieve independence in a near future as the Kurdistan Region needs a lot of elements to achieve the goal, adding that the region does not have the needed human and financial sources and is not united internally and it also needs foreign support for the move.

Smart Kurds have stated that the independence is achievable after Baghdad agrees with that, he said, continuing to say that the time is not proper and the neighboring states, like Turkey and Iran, are against the independence and an independent Kurdistan would not live long in such an unfriendly situation.

Answering the question that why the U.S. has remained silence in the wake of the firings of Kurdish crops in the disputed regions, he stated that the U.S. embassy should comment in this regard.

The professor expressed his doubt that the U.S. could do anything to settle the differences between Baghdad and Erbil, the capital of the Kurdish region, suggesting that the two governments can solve their tensions in bilateral meetings.

Professor Serwer stressed that Washington would help the Kurds when it is in line with its interests, continuing to say that the U.S. backed the Kurds as it wanted the Kurds to defeat the IS and expressed his doubt that the White House wants the Kurds to control Kirkuk and the disputed regions and it was one of the reasons that made me to warn about the referendum.

The political expert also expressed his hope that the new Kurdistan Region Government led by President Nechirvan Barzani and Prime Minister Masrour Barzani can reach an understanding with Baghdad.

Reporter’s code: 50101