ROME-Kurdish Regional Government High Representative Rezan Kader Wednesday discussed the situation in Iraq with Minister Alessandro Gaudiano, Chief of the Iraq Task Force of the Directorate General for Development Cooperation, at the Italian Foreign Ministry, officials said.

  Gaudiano asked the High Representative to brief him on the current situation in the Kurdistan Region and the rest of Iraq in the light of recent events and the official position of the Presidency of the region, as well as the Kurdistan Regional Government, the KRG said.

 Mrs. Kader informed Min. Gaudiano that the Presidency of the Kurdistan Region, had already alarmed the central government in Baghdad of the danger posed by the rebels Isis, who were preparing to launch a major offensive in western Iraq.

 The government of al-Maliki has failed to adequately represent all the components of Iraq and never took seriously the threat from the rebels Isis. In this context, the peshmerga forces have been made available to the defense of the Kurdistan Region and also those areas of contention, of Kurdish majority, like Kirkuk, in order to protect the Kurdish people and to guarantee freedom and democracy, as well as the huge energy resources in the area, despite the lack of financial support from Baghdad.

 In addition, the Kurdistan Region is offering shelter and assistance to refugees from the rest of Iraq, which are adding up to the Syrian refugees, to the Christians persecuted in the rest of Iraq and in the Middle East and to all Iraqis tired of instability and lack of security in Iraq.

 The Presidency and the Kurdistan Regional Government have repeatedly said that the main priority at the moment is not to occupy any territory, but rather to defend the rule of law and peaceful settlement of the situation at the political level by forming a new government of national unity in which all components are represented. In this way, the Prime Minister

 Al Maliki should step aside to allow the restoration of peace and the Building of a new Iraq. In this context, the support of the international community is crucial, especially to deal with the humanitarian emergency in progress, in the reconstruction of damaged villages in the provision of electric generators and food.

 Minister Gaudiano has highlighted the importance of the Kurdistan Region and the role it is playing in Iraq in this delicate moment defending its territory and population, avoiding the expansion of the threat of ISIS forces, in maintaining stability and in providing humanitarian assistance for refugees from the rest of Iraq. The Minister noted the urgent need to establish a government that represents all the ethnic and religious components existing in Iraq.

 Italy, through the Development Cooperation, has donated 1,750,000 euro as aid to cope with the humanitarian crisis, while continuing to work with NGOs and UN agencies on site to face the ongoing crisis.

 Mrs. Kader, thanked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Italian institutions for the continued support offered to the Kurdistan Region and Iraq in this delicate moment for the country.