Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent steps he has taken to de-escalate tensions between the Kurdistan Regional Government and the Iraqi authorities to reduce the risk of any further outbreak of violence in that region.

​We continue to encourage improved relations between the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and the Government of Iraq. I visited Iraq in January and held useful discussions with both Iraqi and KRG leaders. I welcomed steps towards normalisation between Baghdad and Erbil, including the reopening of the Kirkuk oil pipeline last November and the recent budget agreement between the KRG and Government of Iraq.