Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani sponsored today, Saturday, the launch of the first round of bilateral dialogue between Iraq and the United States, to end the mission of the international coalition in Iraq.
The Sudanese media office said in a statement received by {Euphrates News} that “Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani sponsored the launch of the first round of bilateral dialogue between Iraq and the United States of America to end the mission of the international coalition in Iraq.”
Baghdad and Washington agreed on Thursday to launch working groups within the framework of the “Supreme Military Committee”, to study the future of the coalition in light of the “danger” posed by ISIS, and the capabilities of the Iraqi security forces.
The Foreign Ministry said the working groups will “formulate a specific and clear timetable, outlining the duration of the presence of the international coalition’s advisers in Iraq, and directing the deliberate phase-down of its advisers on Iraqi soil.”
In Washington, Deputy Defense Department spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said the size of U.S. military power in Iraq “will certainly be part of the discussions as things progress.”
A Pentagon official said in a press statement that a military committee “will conduct an assessment to reshape the relationship with Baghdad,” noting that “there is no imminent withdrawal of US forces from Iraq.”
Defense Minister Thabet al-Abbasi said on Thursday that his country’s forces “are fully ready to withdraw the coalition forces and hold the security file in the country in full, especially after the experience they have gained in the past years and their dealing with security threats and their elimination.”
He added in a statement, “The timings of the withdrawal of the coalition forces will be determined, and the building of joint cooperation relations between Iraq, the United States and the coalition countries in various political, economic, cultural, security and military fields, in line with the vision of the Iraqi government.”
Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al-Sudani said recently that “the end of the mission of the international coalition is a necessity for Iraq’s security and stability, and it is also a necessity to maintain constructive bilateral relations between Iraq and the coalition countries.”
Al-Sudani considered that “there is no longer any justification for the existence of the international coalition,” saying: “Today the security situation, with the testimony of all specialists in Iraq, and friends, is that ISIS does not represent a threat to the Iraqi state.”
There are about 2,500 American troops in Iraq, while about 900 American soldiers are deployed in Syria, within the framework of the international coalition launched by Washington in 2014.
