The head of the office of the Syrian Democratic Council in the United States, requested the continued presence of the United States in Syria and announced the possibility of mediation by the newly-elected President Joe Biden government to resolve the Syrian Kurdish dispute with Ankara.

The representative of the Kurdistan Islamic Party in the Iraqi parliament stressed that no agreement has been reached between Erbil and Baghdad yet, and that the Kurdish parliament will not approve the budget bill as submitted by the government.

The president general of the Kurdistan Islamic Party (PIK) said: "(Turkey President Recep Tayyip) Erdogan's invitation to the Iraqi prime minister to visit Turkey is to put pressure on the Kurds and make the Kurds more economically and politically dependent on Ankara and Baghdad."

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, KRG Prime Minister Masrour Barzani’s deputy chief of staff outlined why the Kurdish region's government wants US forces stationed in and around the Fish Khabur border crossing.

Syrian fighters backed by Turkey clashed on overnight Thursday with Kurdish forces near the town of Ain Issa in northern Syria, Reuters reported.

The strategic town of Ain Issa that controlled by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), and well-known as the political capital of the Kurdish autonomous administration, has recently become the center of tensions. Aiming to take advantage of the US presidential transitional period, Turkey

Turkey has evacuated seven military observation posts in northwest Syria, pulling back troops from territory controlled by the Syrian government to areas held by insurgents and Turkey-backed rebels, a Turkish source said on Friday, December 18.

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said he had talked with his Iraqi counterpart Fuad Hussein about the opening of Ovakoy border between the two countries. But he stressed that the move would be made without "taking Erbil or Baghdad by surprise".

The command center of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) issued a statement denying the reports of Peoples' Protection Units (YPG), the armed wing of the SDF, forces have attacked Peshmerga positions.

A Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) negotiating delegation met with Iraqi President Barham Salih on Thursday, December 17, in Baghdad, during which they discussed the importance of reaching constitutionally-sound solutions to the budget disagreements between the KRG and the federal government.

During a meeting with a number of protesting teachers in the Kurdistan Region, the Iraqi President expressed his full support for their demands and that of all clerks in the region.

A member of the representative office of the Syrian Kurdistan Self-ruling Administration in Erbil said: "It is necessary for Kurdish parties to distance themselves from conflict and understand the sensitive situation of Syrian Kurdistan."

Russian Rosneft has owned Kurdistan Region's crude oil pipeline to Turkey for 20 years.

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi will pay a one-day official visit to Ankara to discuss economy and security matters with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as the central government in Baghdad and the regional government in Erbil have launched a joint effort to wipe out the PKK and other groups from Shingal.

Foreign Policy magazine wrote in an article that Turkey is concerned about the development of Iraqi Kurds, especially in Kirkuk, and will prevent the Kurds from returning to the path of independence.