<p>Iraq's caretaker premier told Kurdish leaders on Saturday he did not seek a hostile relationship with the United States, in his first visit to the autonomous region since coming to power in 2018.</p>.<p>Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi travelled to Arbil with a delegation of top ministers and his intelligence chief.</p>.<p>The trip came at a time of political turmoil for Iraq, after months of anti-government rallies that saw Abdul Mahdi resign and worsening ties with the US as Iraqi lawmakers push for a withdrawal of foreign troops.</p>.<p>Abdul Mahdi met the region's Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, President Nechirvan Barzani and influential powerbroker Masoud Barzani, who heads the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party.</p>.<p>A statement from Abdul Mahdi's office said he and the Barzanis discussed the ongoing anti-government protests, the presence of foreign troops in Iraq and broader regional tensions.</p>.<p>"We do not want hostility with anyone, including the United States," Abdel Mahdi said.</p>.<p>He then travelled to the Kurdistan region's second city, Sulaymaniyah, to meet leaders of the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party.</p>.<p>The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) sees Abdul Mahdi as a reliable ally and had hoped he would help rebuild ties between Baghdad and Arbil, which frayed following the KRG's controversial independence referendum in 2017.</p>.<p>The KRG continued to back him as protests erupted across Baghdad and Iraq's Shiite-majority south in October, which eventually prompted Abdel Mahdi to step down.</p>.<p>Days before his resignation, the KRG had agreed "in principle" with Baghdad on a revenue-sharing deal that granted it a share of the 2020 federal budget in exchange for exporting its oil through the national seller.</p>.<p>The KRG saw the terms of the agreement as favourable and feared that Abdul Mahdi's replacement would not stick to it, but political factions have not agreed on a candidate.</p>.<p>Kurdish authorities have also been worried by Baghdad's insistence that foreign troops leave Iraq, following a vote in the federal parliament last week.</p>.<p>No Kurdish parliamentarians attended the vote and many see the US-led coalition's presence as a counterweight to Iran.</p>.<p>Some 5,200 US troops are stationed across Iraq to back local forces preventing an Islamic State group resurgence.</p>.<p>They make up the bulk of the broader coalition including troops from dozens of countries, invited by the Iraqi government in 2014 to help combat IS.</p>
<p>Iraq's caretaker premier told Kurdish leaders on Saturday he did not seek a hostile relationship with the United States, in his first visit to the autonomous region since coming to power in 2018.</p>.<p>Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi travelled to Arbil with a delegation of top ministers and his intelligence chief.</p>.<p>The trip came at a time of political turmoil for Iraq, after months of anti-government rallies that saw Abdul Mahdi resign and worsening ties with the US as Iraqi lawmakers push for a withdrawal of foreign troops.</p>.<p>Abdul Mahdi met the region's Prime Minister Masrour Barzani, President Nechirvan Barzani and influential powerbroker Masoud Barzani, who heads the ruling Kurdistan Democratic Party.</p>.<p>A statement from Abdul Mahdi's office said he and the Barzanis discussed the ongoing anti-government protests, the presence of foreign troops in Iraq and broader regional tensions.</p>.<p>"We do not want hostility with anyone, including the United States," Abdel Mahdi said.</p>.<p>He then travelled to the Kurdistan region's second city, Sulaymaniyah, to meet leaders of the rival Patriotic Union of Kurdistan party.</p>.<p>The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) sees Abdul Mahdi as a reliable ally and had hoped he would help rebuild ties between Baghdad and Arbil, which frayed following the KRG's controversial independence referendum in 2017.</p>.<p>The KRG continued to back him as protests erupted across Baghdad and Iraq's Shiite-majority south in October, which eventually prompted Abdel Mahdi to step down.</p>.<p>Days before his resignation, the KRG had agreed "in principle" with Baghdad on a revenue-sharing deal that granted it a share of the 2020 federal budget in exchange for exporting its oil through the national seller.</p>.<p>The KRG saw the terms of the agreement as favourable and feared that Abdul Mahdi's replacement would not stick to it, but political factions have not agreed on a candidate.</p>.<p>Kurdish authorities have also been worried by Baghdad's insistence that foreign troops leave Iraq, following a vote in the federal parliament last week.</p>.<p>No Kurdish parliamentarians attended the vote and many see the US-led coalition's presence as a counterweight to Iran.</p>.<p>Some 5,200 US troops are stationed across Iraq to back local forces preventing an Islamic State group resurgence.</p>.<p>They make up the bulk of the broader coalition including troops from dozens of countries, invited by the Iraqi government in 2014 to help combat IS.</p>