Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions the Government has had with Iraqi and Kurdish authorities on the withdrawal of Kurdish forces from lands they have captured in northern Iraq; and if he will make a statement.

The UK has regular discussions – at ministerial level, and through our Embassy in Baghdad and Consulate-General in Erbil - with the Government of Iraq (GoI) and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) - in which we stress the need for an inclusive political plan for Northern Iraq following Daesh’s defeat. That includes ensuring that the current military cooperation between the KRG and GoI is transferred into political cooperation after Mosul’s liberation. The KRG has committed to withdraw from those territories captured from Daesh since the start of the Mosul operation in October 2016. We support and welcome that position. We also continue to encourage the GoI and KRG to resolve the future status of the disputed territories through dialogue in line with Article 140 of the Iraqi Constitution.