Iraq calls on Washington to return to negotiations to discuss the future of the “coalition”, 8 FEB

Iraq calls on Washington to return to negotiations to discuss the future of the “coalition”

February 8, 2024 01:22

The Iraqi Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced yesterday that Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein stressed in a phone call with US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken the necessity of returning to dialogue and the negotiating table to discuss the future of the international military coalition led by the United States in Iraq.
The talks between the two countries began in January, but less than 24 hours later, three American soldiers were killed in an attack on the Syrian-Jordanian border, which led to the talks stopping since then.
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry statement said that during his call with Blinken, Hussein stressed the Iraqi government’s rejection of such attacks and informed him that “Iraq is not an arena for settling scores between rival countries.”
The United States has 2,500 soldiers in Iraq who provide advice and assistance to local forces to prevent the return of the terrorist organization ISIS, which in 2014 took control of large parts of Iraq and Syria before its defeat. 
After the withdrawal, Iraq is keen to establish bilateral relations with coalition members, including military cooperation in the field of training and equipment.
Hussein formally called on the US Treasury Department to reconsider the sanctions it imposed on several Iraqi banks, and asked whether those sanctions had been imposed due to compliance issues or “for other political reasons.”

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